Qualitative Study
There have been concerns about the quality of education that nursing students and other healthcare professionals are getting especially in communication skills. The objective of this qualitative article was to explore the experiences of first years nursing students concerning the blended learning design, which is adopted in a communication module. The research design is descriptive. The hypothesis and research questions were not stated directly.
For the sample, seventy-four (74) participants were selected for the study (Shorey, Siew, & Ang, 2018). For one to be eligible for the study, he or she had to be a first-year undergraduate nursing student. The study setting was in a university-affiliated nursing school. The participating students were required to complete a reflective exercise concerning an undergraduate communication module they were undertaking.
The exercise was conducted online on the last day of class for the students. After the thematic analysis was conducted, 6 themes and 15 subthemes were generated. In the major themes, it was established that the module created a helpful and engaging classroom experience for the students. It was also noted that the module had valuable and enriching online activities coupled with meaningful assessment.
The module also offered inter-professional education, which helped the students in different ways. Similarly, the module had personal enrichment for the students and it offered overall feedback together with recommendations. In summary, the participating students noted that the blended pedagogy communication module played an important role in their learning coupled with boosting their confidence. Such aspects play a critical role in the nurses’ career growth.
Quantitative Study
The available literature supports the benefits associated with bedside nursing shift reports, but this information has not been quantified. Therefore, the authors of this quantitative study sought to evaluate patient and nurse outcomes after the implementation of bedside nursing reports during shift handover. The researchers also wanted to implement a practice change in a medical-surgical unit in a university hospital. The research questions or hypotheses are not stated.
A quasi-experimental pre-and post-implementation design was used. However, the authors did not state the research questions or hypothesis. For the sample, 233 patients were involved in the baseline data collection, 157 and 154 patients completed post-implementation surveys for 3 and 13 months respectively (Sand-Jecklin & Sherman, 2014). On the other hand, 148 nurses completed the baseline perception survey, while 98 and 54 nurse participants completed 3-month and 13-month post-implementation surveys respectively. The study was conducted in seven medical-surgical units in a university hospital.
The participants were picked randomly. However, patient respondents were required to have been hospitalized for at least 48 hours. Nurse survey data was collected through online channels. It was established that the implementation of bedside reports during shift handover led to improved patient outcomes. On the other hand, nurses had a good perception of the report, which improved patient safety, nurse accountability, and involvement in care. However, nurses had the view that the implementation of the bedside report was time-consuming, but agreed on its usefulness. The researchers concluded that, if properly implemented, nursing bedside reports could lead to improved patient and safety outcomes together with improved nurse satisfaction.
References
Sand-Jecklin, K., & Sherman, J. (2014). A quantitative assessment of patient and nurse outcomes of bedside nursing report implementation. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23(19), 2854-2863.
Shorey, S., Siew, A. L., & Ang, E. (2018). Experiences of nursing undergraduates on a redesigned blended communication module: A descriptive qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 61, 77-82. Web.