Health promotion in the curricula and teaching of two polytechnics in Finland

The purpose of this study was to examine the manifestation of health promotion in two Finnish health care and nursing polytechnic curricula for students starting their studies in August 1997. Another goal was to explore students' and their teachers' perceptions of which modules contained health promotion, as well as to find out which modules contained integrated health promotion. In this study, data and investigator triangulation were used. The data consisted of the curricula of two polytechnics of health care and of interviews with 20 student nurses and their teachers. The data were analysed using content analysis. Health promotion studies were integrated with other studies in the curriculum of the first polytechnic, whereas the second polytechnic had two separate health promotion modules. While most students were in favour of separate health promotion modules, teachers supported integrated modules. Students also reported that their teachers integrated health promotion in modules which were not named as such, for example, in language modules. The results represent a major challenge concerning the content of health promotion in the curricula and, also, the methods for teaching health promotion. More cooperation between teachers during the process of planning curricula is recommended.     

Health education in baccalaureate nursing curriculum: myth or reality?

This survey of baccalaureate nursing curricula was conducted to identify content and methods being used to help students develop beginning competence in health education. Catalogs from 200 schools revealed only minimal explicit attention to the teaching role of nurses. The 36 schools which gave evidence of health education and sent course materials showed little agreement on what health education encompassed or what reasonable expectations were for the baccalaureate nursing student. While there can be no generalization of these findings to baccalaureate nursing education, serious questions are raised concerning the thoroughness with which nursing educators are treating the health education component of the baccalaureate curriculum. Given the centrality of health education to prevention, health promotion, greater client control over his own health, reduced anxiety and more appropriate utilization, it would appear that health education is scarcely an area to be dealt with superficially in baccalaureate nursing education.     

Integrating psychology with interpersonal communication skills in undergraduate nursing education: Addressing the challenges

The inclusion of the social, behavioural and bio-sciences is acknowledged as essential to the development of the art and science of nursing. Nonetheless, the literature highlights on-going debate about the content and delivery of these subject areas in undergraduate nursing education. The bio-sciences and social sciences in particular have received much attention but more recently the inclusion of psychology in nursing curricula is gaining momentum. Studies conducted on nursing students' views of these supporting sciences have also highlighted problems with their understanding, relevance and application to nursing practice.Although broad guidelines are given as to what should be included, no detail is given as to how much detail or at what level these subjects should be taught. Subsequently, approved institutions are responsible for their own course content. This has resulted in inconsistent and varied approaches to integrating the sciences in undergraduate nursing curricula.Following a recent review of the undergraduate nursing curriculum in one university in the Republic of Ireland a decision was made to combine the teaching, learning and assessment of Applied Psychology with Interpersonal Communication skills. This paper will describe the developmental process and evaluation of the integrated module.     

Clinical teachers' conceptions of nursing

Lack of knowledge exists about clinical teachers' understanding of nursing. A likely relationship between teachers' conceptions of nursing and what they focus on when teaching nursing students in the clinical setting means that the identification of different conceptions of nursing is important. This study investigated clinical teachers' experiences of nursing and clinical teaching of undergraduate nursing students. This article reports on clinical teachers' conceptions of nursing. Semistructured interviews of 20 nurses employed as clinical teachers in Australian universities were conducted. Data were analyzed using a phenomenographic approach. The findings suggest that nursing is conceived as performing tasks; providing appropriate care; providing individualized patient care aimed at achieving patient outcomes; or collaborating with health care team members to provide appropriate, individualized patient care aimed at achieving patient outcomes. Insights will assist with future preparation and support of clinical teachers, the education of nursing students, and improved curriculum design.     

对临床教师有效教学行为的调查

目的 :了解护理临床带教老师和本科学生对临床教学行为的认知。方法 :选择整群抽样 ,采用自设调查表对北京和天津地区四所三级甲等教学医院承担本科生临床带教工作的临床教师以及本科学生进行了问卷调查和部分访谈。结果 :教师和学生都认为“护理能力”行为是临床教师最重要的行为特征 ,其次是“教学能力”行为和“评价”行为。国内教师和学生对临床教师的“教学能力”行为重要性认识与国外相比仍有差异。结论 :国内师生对临床教师的“教学能力”行为重要性认识不足 ,师生双方在护理教育理念上与国外教育者、学习者存在一定差距。     

Inspiring nursing students to mobilize communities in Nepal

In 1987 nurse educators in Nepal implemented a revised certificate nursing curriculum oriented toward primary health care (PHC) and a bachelor of community health nursing (CHN) curriculum with emphasis on leadership in PHC. As both curricula included practical experience for nursing students in the community, the teachers had to strategize how to maximize both the students' learning and their contribution to community health. Below, how the educators encouraged reluctant students to not only participate in PHC activities but also change their negative attitudes about working in remote areas of Nepal.     

The Yapunyah project: embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the nursing curriculum

The Yapunyah Project is an initiative of the Faculty of Health at Queensland University of Technology. It was instigated to further improve the development of cultural competence in health graduates with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. The project was informed by the cultural competence in healthcare delivery models of Campinha-Bacote (1998a) and Cross, Bazron, Dennis and Isaacs (1989) and by the cultural safety reforms to nursing curricula in New Zealand. The Yapunyah Project involved extensive consultation and collaboration with Indigenous staff and health experts in the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. A core curriculum, and associated graduate transcultural competencies, were informed by these discussions and earlier reforms in health curricula by the Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Although the overall project involved four separate schools within the faculty, this paper details the experience of embedding Indigenous perspectives within the undergraduate nursing curriculum. The experience has been a challenging and positive one, and the reforms have been supported by a sustainable framework. This paper outlines how one university faculty is endeavouring to educationally prepare nursing students to practice with evidence-based transcultural nursing knowledge based on culture care values, beliefs, and traditional lifeways of Indigenous people of Australia. As such, the project aims to contribute to the improvement and promotion of the health and well-being of Indigenous Australians in culturally and ethnohistorically meaningful ways.     

Evaluating the use of anaudit tool to identify health promotion activities in practice

Lask et al. (1994) noted that Colleges of Nursing, Midwifery and Health were experiencing significant difficulties in obtaining appropriate placements to meet the philosophy ofhealth promotion in the nursing curricula. This paper discusses the experienc es of usingan audit tool to evaluate the extent to which health and health promotion are currently reflected in the nursing curricula and in clinical practice.The tool was commissioned by the South West NHS Executive and developed by South Bank University (Smith et al. 1999). The content of the National Occupational Standardsfor Health Promotion informed the development of the audit tool. The tool was piloted as part of a study investigating the relationship between health promotion/education and the application of theory to practice in clinical areas. The findings suggested that health promotion activity was clearly evident in practice areas, but that it was not always overtly recognized by practitioners. In discussion between the lecturer researchers undertaking the audit, and practitioners, the tool was found to be very useful in identifying valuable health promotion/education experiences in areas not traditionally used for pre-registration student placement. Recommendations included the regular use of the audit tool in all clinical areas, to assist practitioners, teachers and mentors to link theory to practice, and the identification of health promotion in practice.     

The health-promoting nurse as a health policy career expert and entrepreneur

A plethora of literature suggests that many nurses struggle in their attempts to develop a political role that allows them to directly influence and implement health policy activity. Nursing curricula are an integral part of ensuring that nurses are capable of taking on a more active role in initiating and developing health policy processes, through a broadening of the health promotion curriculum that focuses on socio-political approaches to health care provision. Despite this, the available literature suggests that the majority of nursing curricula are yet to fulfil this role. Such a role could be supported by attempts to define and promote a specific career route that develops nurses as health policy experts and entrepreneurs early on in their careers. This article aims to put forward a rationale for developing such a position in nursing education.     

Evaluating educational preparation for a health education role in practice: the case of medication education

Current health care policy and practice contexts in the UK point to the importance of nurses' ability to make an effective contribution to educating patients about medication, as part of their role in health education and health promotion. Nurses' potential contribution to this important activity will inevitably be dependent on knowledge and skills acquired during preregistration and postregistration programmes of education. Against this backdrop, changes in pre and postregistration nurse education in the UK in the past decade highlight the importance and timeliness of evaluating the adequacy of educational preparation for a medication role. This paper reports on the findings from an evaluation of UK educational preparation for a medication education role in practice. A case study design was used to investigate current educational preparation at three education institutions. Multiple methods of data collection at each site involved focus group discussions with lecturers and practitioners, individual interviews with key personnel, nonparticipant observation of teaching sessions, postobservation interviews with students and curriculum analysis. Findings highlighted the importance of a number of dimensions of preparation for practice of such a role: the need for sufficient taught pharmacology; opportunities for application and integration of prerequisite knowledge and skills; the importance of practice-based learning; the need for an evidence-based curriculum, and the importance of clarifying outcomes and competencies required for a medication education role within pre and postregistration curricula. The paper concludes with a discussion and implications of the findings.     

Action research: a suitable method for promoting change in nurse education

This paper arose from a research study and its follow-up in four schools of nursing and midwifery. The study was concerned with evaluating the extent to which a philosophy of health had been integrated into the educational curricula of nurses, midwives and health visitors. The purpose of the follow-up was to disseminate and implement the study findings in the four centres. The findings showed that the interpretation and implementation of a philosophy of health in nursing had been variable. Health was operationalized as both health education and health promotion ranging from individualized information giving and disease prevention. Action research was chosen as the appropriate methodology for the follow-up because of its emphasis on participation and partnership. As the follow-up study progressed a number of issues emerged which were indicative of the changes taking place in nurse education as its institutional base shifted into higher education. Other issues were associated with the gap between the rhetoric and reality of action research and the expectations and needs of the key partners. The authors conclude that the follow-up study presented both challenges and opportunities to nurse educators in their endeavour to undertaken research and implement educational change.     

A Blueprint of Pain Curriculum Across Prelicensure Health Sciences Programs: One NIH Pain Consortium Center of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPE) Experience

To improve U.S. pain education and promote interinstitutional and interprofessional collaborations, the National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium has funded 12 sites to develop Centers of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPEs). Each site was given the tasks of development, evaluation, integration, and promotion of pain management curriculum resources, including case studies that will be shared nationally. Collaborations among schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and others were encouraged. The John D. Loeser CoEPE is unique in that it represents extensive regionalization of health science education, in this case in the region covering the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. This paper describes a blueprint of pain content and teaching methods across the University of Washington’s 6 health sciences schools and provides recommendations for improvement in pain education at the prelicensure level. The Schools of Dentistry and Physician Assistant provide the highest percentage of total required curriculum hours devoted to pain compared with the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work. The findings confirm the paucity of pain content in health sciences curricula, missing International Association for the Study of Pain curriculum topics, and limited use of innovative teaching methods such as problem-based and team-based learning.     

Teachers' experiences of English-language-taught degree programs within health care sector of Finnish polytechnics

The purpose of this study was to research teachers' experiences of the English-Language-Taught Degree Programs in the health care sector of Finnish polytechnics. More specifically, the focus was on teachers' experiences of teaching methods and clinical practice. The data were collected from eighteen teachers in six polytechnics through focus group interviews. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The results suggested that despite the positive interaction between students and teachers, choosing appropriate teaching methods provided a challenge for teachers, due to cultural diversity of students as well as to the use of a foreign language in tuition. Due to students' language-related difficulties, clinical practice was found to be the biggest challenge in the educational process. Staffs' attitudes were perceived to be significant for students' clinical experience. Further research using stronger designs is needed.     

Innovations in community-based nursing education: transitioning faculty.

The health-care climate is changing rapidly and in ways that challenge the abilities of professionals who provide health care. Nursing educators are preparing professional nurses who can think critically, use sound clinical judgment, and participate as full partners in shaping health-care delivery and policy. Therefore, many schools of nursing, including five schools of nursing whose experiences are synthesized in this article, are revising their curricula to a community-based nursing perspective. Strategies to assist faculty in the transition to a community-based nursing curriculum include using change theory, creating a supportive environment, reducing tension and isolation, and evaluating. Potential challenges during transition include addressing grief and loss, overcoming the tedium of curricular development, moving the revision along while allowing opportunities for faculty input and consensus building, exploring alternative pedagogies, managing faculty workload and qualification issues, and preparing for transition. Outcomes include a more complete understanding of the community client as a partner in the delivery of health care, increased visibility and role modeling to potential future candidates for health careers, cultural transformations within a university, and promotion of the overall health of a community.     

Global health education in Chinese universities and potential for collaboration with schools of nursing: A qualitative study

BackgroundThe Chinese Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CCUGH) was established within schools of public health in 2013 with the goal of enhancing global health in China. Expanding nursing students' exposure to global health curricula is important as nurses are essential actors in the health care system. However, information related to existing global health education within CCUGH-affiliated universities and the current engagement of Chinese schools of nursing in global health remains extremely limited.ObjectiveTo identify and describe the current definitions and conceptualizations of global health education in Chinese universities, with a focus on schools of nursing, in order to explore potential opportunities for strengthened collaboration between global health initiative and schools of nursing in China.MethodsPurposive sampling with snowballing was used to recruit 19 key informants who were critical stakeholders in global health and nursing in China. Key informant interviews were conducted from July 2014 to February 2015, and data were updated in June 2016. Content analysis was used to analyze data via Atlas.ti 7.ResultsThere was a rapid growth in global health education within and beyond CCUGH-affiliated universities with nine universities establishing global health institutes. Translation and definition of global health lacked consistency in Chinese language. Though no course directly related to global health was offered, schools of nursing were gradually participating in global health education and research. Nursing was a critical component of global health, and global health and nursing mutually advanced each other. Nursing education should include global health contents, but at present independent global health curriculum in schools of nursing was not appropriate.ConclusionIncreasingly Chinese universities are promoting global health education through the platform of CCUGH. It is an ideal moment to promote and expand work across the fields of global health and nursing, specifically to highlight opportunities for collaboration across education, research and practice.     

Primary health care content in Australian undergraduate nursing curricula

The importance of primary health care PHC is receiving increasing attention. The demand for skilled workers is due to an increased emphasis on community-based care but until recent times pre-registration preparation for nurses, including clinical placements, have focussed on acute care specialties.AimTo systematically review, measure and describe the PHC content in the undergraduate nursing curriculum in Australian schools of nursing over time.MethodsA cross-sectional study of all Australian universities offering undergraduate (pre-registration) baccalaureate degrees was undertaken in February 2017. Curriculum artifacts were retrieved from university websites. A terminology matrix guided retrieval of PHC content.FindingsAll 29 universities offering pre-registration undergraduate nursing degrees in Australia were included in this study. While most universities cite PHC principals as core values underpinning their undergraduate curriculum, only 12 (<2%) of the 694 subject titles had obvious or manifest “primary health care” content and these were mainly offered in 1st and 3rd year. Subject outlines tended to demonstrate more explicit content than subject titles.DiscussionThis study confirms ambiguity in PHC interpretation and nomenclature, and opportunities for undergraduate preparation for nursing roles in the home setting is limited. Prospective undergraduate nurses seeking careers in PHC might be deterred by a lack of manifest PHC content in the public domain, which may or may not accurately represent the actual content provided.ConclusionThe predominance of acute episodic care in both curricula and clinical experiences potentially diminishes the importance of PHC. This study offers some direction for education providers and policymakers wishing to attract and prepare next generation nurses for roles in PHC.     

Teaching can never be innocent: fostering an enlightening educational experience

Becoming cognizant of the actual and potential oppressive dimensions of the teaching practices of nurse educators is essential in establishing a more democratic and enlightening experience for both teachers and students. Although there has been an ardent trend toward the promotion of critical thinking and reflective ability among nursing students, rarely has attention focused on the ability of nurse educators to be critically reflective of their own teaching. The authors pose key questions about the reality of nursing education today and how it can sometimes continue to reflect a philosophy that seems to contravene the notion of a more liberated approach to teaching. In that process, they reflect critically on the subtle incongruities and complexities between teachers' intentions and their practice.