Mentoring Student Nurses in Theatre Essay

The Operating sign is an alien environment for disciples and whitethorn be deemed hostile and uninviting. The role of mentors in much(prenominal) a specialize environment is to encourage interaction earlier than passivity and utilise each check offedness opportunity that exists. Students should be encouraged to reflect on those delivers in a structured manner, to uphold in their instruction of meaningful reflection, which is a valu sufficient tool for throughout their c beer (Quinn 2000).The aim of this assignment is to critic every(prenominal)y analyse and reflect upon an innovation, that relates to accomplishment and assessing in the pass environment of theatres. The tuition out come downs 1, 2 and 4 impart be the focus for this assignment beca practice session I get they be the most(prenominal) relevant for reflecting on my innovation as they cover the Importance of the disciple and mentor affinityship in relation to their encyclopaedism experience, the oppo rtunities and limitations to larn in practice and the military rating of intimacy theories and belief strategies to facilitate the integration of theory and practice.The innovation was a acquire mail boat titled Airway equipment & techniques in the theatre setting. The pack was intentional to be a rudimentary insite into the different pieces of equipment and the techniques used and was presented to a blurb year bookman nurse, as part of a learn session. Bruner (1961) explains that when presenting hot information to scholars, the way the textile is structured is important to overall schooling. He acceptd that if pupils determine the basic structure of a subject they go forth describe out much of the finer detail themselves.Spouse(2001) accepted that observation muckle aid in enlarged understanding, whilst practice stomach increase competence, provided the incumbent familiarity is in typeset, in order to facilitate comprehension. I weigh that understanding the basics of air hose management is a valu equal and moveable skill that the assimilator merchant ship utilise in every clinical setting. Quinn (2000) who formulated a scholar-centrered approach to learning, visualising the mentor as a friend and facilitator for and providing of, imaginations for learning, being rough peerless who shares feelings as well as fellowship with their students. to begin with introducing some of the techniques and equipment used in airway management, i knew it was important to address with the student their level of knowledge and experience. Airway management may be an field of force that they believe is unique to the theatre environment. In discussion with the student prior to the principle session, i explained that in every clinical scene of action at that place is an emergency resusitation trolley, consisting of a defibrillator, emergency drugs and one of the essential components on each one is an airway tray, each containing the equipm ent that is expound in my innovation.During our colloquy it was established that during their forward transcriptions, no aspects of airway management had been covered. On previous placements they had been shown where the emergency trolley was kept, but there had not been any ball statement to familiarise them with the components. Airway management and equipment was therefore not something they mat they understood very well, despite this they showed a keen interest in learning more about the them, acknowledging that although specialised, airway management skills are highly transferable to any setting.Welsh and Swann (2002) believe it is essential to assess a students prior knowledge as this establishes a baseline for conveyment and is a prerequisite for planning future learning. By making the sentence to discuss the students previous learning experiences at the beginning of their placement, it gives an opportunity for the mentor and student to develop the learning outcomes t hat remove to be secured and discuss how they wish to achieve them. Learning, according to Rogers (1983) is based on cardinal key factors that exist in the relationship between mentors and students.The initiative factor being genuineness, were the mentor should come across as a real person, therefore able to develop a normal relationship with their student. I feel that by welcoming my student to theatres I achieved this. Trust and acceptance, being that the mentor should correspond and accept their student as an individual, that is worthy of their care and respect. Finally, the empathatic understanding by the mentor, by being able to see things from the students perspective and act fittingly in response to this. smith (1992) supports that student nurses feel better able to care for patients when they feel cared for by their mentor and clinical staff. After the teaching session the student kept the learning pack to use as a source of reference, for throughout their placement, when spy the equipment being used in everyday practice. To assess the effectiveness of the innovation the student was asked to complete a questionnaire, to evaluate what they had learned from being provided with the pack, as well as an evaluation form to help me understand how the student felt about the teaching session.I felt comfortable throughout the teaching session and the student asked questions openly, which I encouraged them to do. Allen (2005) estated that a vindicatory mentor should be open and honest as well as be able to issuing advice and criticism. According to Neary (1997) and Gray and Smith (2000), most students believe that a successful assessment outcome depends on having a good on the job(p) relationship with the mentor.A mentor should support the current version of the nurse and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards (2008b) and note that there are several reasons for supporting learning in practice to provide support and guidance to the student when learning n ew skills, defying new knowledge and transferring existing knowledge and competence to a new context of practice (pg 36) to act as a resource to manage the learning and to observe the practice to ensure outcomes and competencies are met (as delineate by the NMC).Whilst these standards are mainly aimed at student nurses the term student could be applied to those learning, even when they are registered nurses as they are fighting(a) in lifelong learning. Students feeling welcome and valued when they arrive will assist with their learning throughout the placement. According to Quinn (2000) identifying the learning need of the student is best approached at the beginning of the placement. How students interact with the learning environment is important, oddly in the context of life long learning and continuing lord development.As in all specialised playing states there are procedures that need to be understood and learned as the student progresses on the skipper curve. ( Radfor d and Hunt 1999). As a mentor in the theatre setting, I eat up learned to identify areas that could be improved for student learning, such as Techniques that are every day to the staff as lords and the buzzword that they use, can be seen as bizarre and seemingly difficult to learn for the student.The idea was to produce an eye catching innovation . A visually attractive and an uncomplicated style of teaching was applied, using indicators for further study for future, current or past theatre placement students. This was to encourage self-governing learning (Ghazi & Henshaw 1998) and avoid over-whelming the student with too much information which may create fear and fear. An important aspect of reducing anxiety for students is their mental home to the placement area.This is something that every registered nurse can relate to because we can all remember being student nurses ourselves and can all recall our good and bad placements easily, the bad practically being when everything still felt unacquainted(predicate) sometimes weeks into a placement area. Swann (2005) identify that an essential component of the mentor/mentored relationship is converse. Hutchinson (2003) supports this by stating that an environment is not just the physical area but too the attitudes of staff.The student nurse on placement in theatres was introduced to firstly their mentor, who after a friendly introduction took the student to the storage locker direction to show them where they could leave their belongings and get changed. Once changed into theatre scrubs they were taken through the department and in each area they were introduced to the staff and the allocated mentors for that area. The health and safety aspects of the department and the fire procedure was also explained.In theatres students have frequently commented on their initial anxieties when coming for a placement. Sampson (2006) carried out a study to identify why there was a shortage of students choosing theatres for a clinical placement. Findings suggest that there has been a dramatic fall in the number of students coming to toy in theatres and students are not choosing this area due to fear and anxiety about this specialised, unknown environment. When anxiety is high, an individual is immobilised, perceptions are narrowed and learning is impeded (Meisenhelder, 1987)Positive ways to motivate and encourage learning is depict by Sampson (2006) as making learning interesting, ensuring relevance to learners needs, reinforcing positive not negative aspects and gravid students responsibility for learning. By providing the student with the learning pack, it allowed them to take some responsibility for their learning. Silen-Lipponen et al (2004) identified that students have difficulties combining suppositious and clinical knowledge in the learning process, but the perioperative environment can enhance student education by integrating theory, and practice and create skills in reflection.These knowledge and skills are required by the NMC (2008) standards of proficiency for pre-registration nurses which state that safe and effective practice requires a sound underpinning of the theoretical knowledge, which informs practice, and essential therefore reflect breadth of practice and learning. Much evidence exists which suggests that the perioperative clinical area is an invaluable learning environment and it is essential that student nurses are aware of the learning opportunities available within this diverse clinical area (.Silen-Lipponen et al 2004) Factors that may inhibit learning for students can be described as internal or external in nature. The most everyday barriers have been identified by many authors (AshCroft, Foreman-peck 1994, Reece and Walker(2000) and Quinn(2000), they include pressure of time and workload, lack of support from the organisation and family. The learning pack was innovated and planned to assist myself in teaching and to provide the student with the most appropriate teaching for their level of learning.Before beginning the teaching session, i encouraged the student to openly ask questions, as the teaching session was based on explaining the contents of the teaching pack, which they would be using throughout their allocation. Scouse (2001) recognised that observation can aid increased understanding, whilst practice can increase competence, provided the necessary knowledge is in place to facilitate comprehension. Reece and Walker (2002) identified that our perception of learning will affect how we teach. Therefore before we explore how to teach, we must understand how people learn.Learning is a relatively stable change, usually brought about intentionally. Jarvis (1983) highlighted three domains of learning that are important for any healthcare professional. Cognitive, affective and psychomotor show that learning can number from teaching, study or the assimilation of information and skills as a resolution of experience. The clinical environment offers a challenge in relation to the choices of schema available to facilitate learning. Oliver and Endersby (1994) suggest that most teaching in practice areas deal with skills, including interpersonal and management skills.The elements of the educational taxonomy considers that any learning result has robe considered from three perspectives in relation to what a student has to learn. To apply these using a component of the innovation and given to a student nurse, with something such as teaching a student how to apply an group O mask to a patient, the psychomotor skill would be for the student to be able to select and open the face mask, correctly assemble and thusly connect it to the oxygen source, then document appropriately.It is not enough just to be able to assemble the mask and administer oxygen, for cognitive skills, the student should should also be able to understand why they are giving the patient oxygen, its effects and the correct observat ions. It should not be bury that receiving the oxygen is a patient. To be competent with affective skills the student must display the appropriate communication and interpersonal skills. Quinn (2000) stated that mentors can often tend to use strategies they find useful but must be conscious of the preferred learning style of the student.There are three main theories of learning, behaviourism, cognitivism and humanism. Each looks at learning from a different perspective. along with learning theories it is vital to consider the mentor/student relationship and the learning environment, as these can help or hinder learning (Gray and Smith 2000). Behaviourism is the response gained from behaviour. Cognitive theory focuses on psychological processes that are involved in the acquisition, organisation and use of knowledge (knowles 1990). Austell (1987) advocated the concept of an mature organiser.This is a strategy introduced in advance of new material for example, teaching theory before practising a skill. The student was taught the importance of sagacious the correct airway management of the unconscious patient in the recuperation room, this aided their understanding of which airway equipment or technique was used and why. The learning package and teaching session combined with a perfect learning environment within the theatre and recovery settings, allowed the student the opportunity to apply theory to practice.Fretwell (1985) stated that an ideal learning environment is seen as one in which the educational needs of the student are met. Along with knowledge of the learning domains, it also useful to consider the learning styles of the students. One of the most often cited model is that of Honey and Mumford cited in Howard, 1999, p 110) of the activist, pragmatist, theorist and reflector. Acknowledging these aspects, along with the use of different teaching strategies, Howard (1999) suggested enabling the learning to be adult-centred rather than following a teac her driven agenda.Noone (2009), on discussing a breast feeding curriculum, suggests that it should integrate three aspects the cognitive/intellectual the skills-base and the ethical comportment/behavioural one. Whilst the one-off session about airway management cant be compared to a full programme of education, it does, never-the-less, incorporate each of these aspects. There is knowledge of the anatomy and physiology, the use of airway adjuncts and the respect for dignity, by utilising good communication skills are all apparent.By accounting for learning theories, the learning environment, strategies for teaching and learning styles, I have been able to reflect on this experience and discovered areas I can make improvements or change. Theories of learning helped me to accredit the relevance of behaviours, knowledge, comprehension and feelings while teaching students, I will use this knowledge to further develop my skills in teaching. The fact that reflection takes place is importa nt as it contributes to the continuing development of a practitioner and facilitates the development of effective practice (johns 2000).To reflect on my innovation i will follow the framework of Gibbs (1998) reflective cycle, which I believe is thorough and logical. I developed a learning package for student nurses to learn, understand and develop knowledge in the skills required for the different ways to manage a patients airway, within the theatre setting. The pack consisted of airway management equipment and techniques ranging from the most basic to advanced. I presented it to a second year student that was on placement in theatres.My aim was that the student would learn the basics of airway management, some of which they would be able to put into practice in the recovery room under supervision, such as removal of a patients laryngeal mask. Whilst i was developing the teaching plan and the innovation, I refreshed my own knowledge, making me feel more confident to present the sess ion. The evaluation form that was terminate by the student was very positive, I will therefore feel less apprehensive the next time I do a teaching session. The learning pack helped the student to become familiar with the airway equipment and techniques easily.Feedback from the student showed that the pictures and brief descriptions, provided enough information to enable them to recall that information, whilst observing the equipment and techniques being used in practice. This type of learning style could be associated with Dunn (1984) who describes the Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (VAK) model. When a student nurse has a placement in theatre, the unfamiliar environment and uniforms can be quite daunting. Many things can can be done to promote a good learning environment that meets the needs of the learners.There is a need to help the students understand the learning opportunities available to them and give them support. The student was introduced to the theatre team, on the first day of their placement and I explained about the different routines compare with their knowledge of the ward placements they had been to. The student was initially very nervous, but by providing reassurances and acquaint them with the layout and routine for theatre, they soon settled into their placement and became part of our team.I asked the student following the teaching session to complete an evaluation form. I believe my teaching approach worked well and the student achieved all of their learning objectives. I am certain that during the students placement I maintained a professional but approachable attitude and encouraged them to ask questions when they felt they require to. Overall I feel that I have learned that the excogitation for being a good mentor is in building a good working relationship with the student. Achieving this will underpin every some other aspect of being their mentor.Time spent working with the student should be utilised well with plenty of opportunit y for discussions. Once a vibrancy has developed, as a mentor I should display insight into the students needs which will show a degree of empathatic understanding, which will make them more at ease. I now understand the significance of a contributory learning environment so that the student Feels comfortable in the unfamiliar setting and feels supported. The theoretical knowledge of learning theories and teaching strategies that I have gained will enable me to meet the requirements of each individual student needs.