CAREERS STUDENT LIFE
Keeping up with developments Sharon Andrew offers some useful advice to students on finding, then getting the most out of, research material
RESOURCES Student life online rcnpublishing.com/page/ns/students RCN Research Society tinyurl.com/RCNRESSOC
It is important to learn from mistakes, says Sarah Holling ‘Do you think there is life after death?’ I was surrounded by doctors and technicians on my first placement when the patient had chosen to ask me the question. It was her way of saying ‘I’m scared of dying’. While taking a blood pressure or knowing about medications are important, so too are building trust and learning to empathise and be compassionate. Few students complete their training without a crisis and it is how they respond that determines the nurse they become. Only when I made an error did I learn that nurses need courage and humility to admit to, and learn from, mistakes. Nurses are registered because it takes integrity to protect patients and families, and that responsibility starts from their first day as a nursing student. Nurses cannot stick to the Nursing and Midwifery Council code to ‘make the care of people your first concern’ unless they are well themselves. They should ask for help and support each other. Nursing is about caring for each other and taking care of ourselves. Nursing students should challenge themselves and be open to opportunities. Why not write your feelings and hopes in a letter to be opened on graduation day and see how you have changed? NS
Appraising research papers Is the research problem and aim clear? Will the research design answer the study aim and questions? Are there ethical issues with the research? Is the data collection and analysis described? Are the findings believable? Are the limitations stated? Are the nursing implications of the findings described? they find. This is preferable to merely describing what the researcher did or found (see box). Being able to locate, read and understand research will help students keep up to date with developments in nursing and medicine, and an inquiring attitude can lead to improvements and innovations for practice NS Sharon Andrew is professor of nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
IKON
Delivering nursing care the same way, year on year, is no longer acceptable. Nursing care is now evidence-based and students need to understand research. An undergraduate programme will introduce students to different types of research, methods, ethical principles and ways to conduct and analyse research. They are encouraged to develop an enquiring attitude and to consider how to incorporate research into practice. Students are expected to use research papers to support their arguments in assignments and learn how to read and judge the quality of the research through critical appraisal. Research is published in journals, specialist books, reports and at conferences. Journal papers are often the preferred source of research because they have been peer-reviewed. These papers can be found in specialist databases and students are encouraged to attend database training sessions (see resources). Points to consider when searching literature for evidence: Ask a clear research question. Refine the question if it proves impossible to find relevant data. Try to find the best evidence. If necessary, ask a librarian for help. Students should carry out a critical appraisal of the papers
Coping in a crisis
Sarah Holling is a newly qualified nurse and one of the chief nursing officer’s ‘caremakers’. She is a staff nurse at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey
66 october 30 ::from vol RCNi.com 28 no 9 :: by 2013 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 13, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keeping up with developments Sharon Andrew offers some useful advice to students on finding, then getting the most out of, research material
RESOURCES Student life online rcnpublishing.com/page/ns/students RCN Research Society tinyurl.com/RCNRESSOC
It is important to learn from mistakes, says Sarah Holling ‘Do you think there is life after death?’ I was surrounded by doctors and technicians on my first placement when the patient had chosen to ask me the question. It was her way of saying ‘I’m scared of dying’. While taking a blood pressure or knowing about medications are important, so too are building trust and learning to empathise and be compassionate. Few students complete their training without a crisis and it is how they respond that determines the nurse they become. Only when I made an error did I learn that nurses need courage and humility to admit to, and learn from, mistakes. Nurses are registered because it takes integrity to protect patients and families, and that responsibility starts from their first day as a nursing student. Nurses cannot stick to the Nursing and Midwifery Council code to ‘make the care of people your first concern’ unless they are well themselves. They should ask for help and support each other. Nursing is about caring for each other and taking care of ourselves. Nursing students should challenge themselves and be open to opportunities. Why not write your feelings and hopes in a letter to be opened on graduation day and see how you have changed? NS
Appraising research papers Is the research problem and aim clear? Will the research design answer the study aim and questions? Are there ethical issues with the research? Is the data collection and analysis described? Are the findings believable? Are the limitations stated? Are the nursing implications of the findings described? they find. This is preferable to merely describing what the researcher did or found (see box). Being able to locate, read and understand research will help students keep up to date with developments in nursing and medicine, and an inquiring attitude can lead to improvements and innovations for practice NS Sharon Andrew is professor of nursing at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
IKON
Delivering nursing care the same way, year on year, is no longer acceptable. Nursing care is now evidence-based and students need to understand research. An undergraduate programme will introduce students to different types of research, methods, ethical principles and ways to conduct and analyse research. They are encouraged to develop an enquiring attitude and to consider how to incorporate research into practice. Students are expected to use research papers to support their arguments in assignments and learn how to read and judge the quality of the research through critical appraisal. Research is published in journals, specialist books, reports and at conferences. Journal papers are often the preferred source of research because they have been peer-reviewed. These papers can be found in specialist databases and students are encouraged to attend database training sessions (see resources). Points to consider when searching literature for evidence: Ask a clear research question. Refine the question if it proves impossible to find relevant data. Try to find the best evidence. If necessary, ask a librarian for help. Students should carry out a critical appraisal of the papers
Coping in a crisis
Sarah Holling is a newly qualified nurse and one of the chief nursing officer’s ‘caremakers’. She is a staff nurse at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey
66 october 30 ::from vol RCNi.com 28 no 9 :: by 2013 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 13, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
