Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Key Findings:
Students learned nursing care in practice placements. There were
changes in the students’ perception of higher level skills over the
course of the study.
Identification of higher level skills was intimately related to what the
student could do and their area of nursing practice in the early part
of the study.
Psychomotor nursing skills were perceived as higher level at the
beginning of the data collection, this changed as the study
progressed. The complex nature of Nursing practice was clearly
identified in the study as students journeyed through the rostered
clinical placements. Skills of communication, patient assessment,
holistic care, enhancing safety, fitting into the ward and nursing
practice in wards where the nature of practice was complex, were
identified as higher level throughout the study. In order to develop
these higher level skills students needed to be able to elicit
information, apply standards, use analytic skills, logical reasoning
and critical reflection.
Conclusions:
Students learned higher level skills in Clinical Nursing Placements.
Their perception of what higher level skills were, changed over the
period of the data collection. However some skills remained higher
level throughout the data collection period and could only be
learned in nursing practice.
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