Learning to Learn in Nursing Practice (Transforming Nursing Practice)

134 Pages·2009·2.07 MB·English

by  Kath Sharples

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Learning to Learn
in Nursing Practice
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Series Editor: Shirley Bach 1
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Transforming Nursing Practice – titles in the series 3
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Communication and Interpersonal Skills for Nurses ISBN 978 1 84445 162 3
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Law and Professional Issues in Nursing ISBN 978 1 84445 160 9
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Learning to Learn in Nursing Practice ISBN 978 1 84445 244 6
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Nursing and Working with Other People ISBN 978 1 84445 161 6
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Nursing in Contemporary Healthcare Practice ISBN 978 1 84445 159 3
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What is Nursing? Exploring Theory and Practice ISBN 978 1 84445 158 6
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To order, contact our distributor: BEBC Distribution, Albion Close, 4
Parkstone, Poole, BH12 3LL. Telephone [phone], email: 5
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Learning to Learn
in Nursing Practice
Kath Sharples
LEARNING TO LEARN PTrev_gk.QXD 2/6/09 15:05 Page iv
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First published in 2009 by Learning Matters Ltd 5
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored 7
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, 8
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in 9
writing from Learning Matters. 10
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©2009 Kath Sharples 2
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data 3
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library 4
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ISBN: 978 1 84445 244 6 6
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The right of Kath Sharples to be identified as the author of this Work has
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been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
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1988.
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Cover design by Toucan Design 1
Project Management by Diana Chambers 2
Typeset by Kelly Gray 3
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall 4
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Learning Matters Ltd 6
33 Southernhay East 7
Exeter EX1 1NX 8
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E-mail:
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Contents
Foreword vi
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction: Your training – your career 1
1 Practice learning in the pre-registration nursing curriculum 6
2 Learning as an adult 17
3 Your mentor in practice 26
4 Learning with style 38
5 Preparing for clinical placement 49
6 Self-regulated learning in practice 62
7 Learning through experience 72
8 Learning through feedback 84
9 Learning to learn in practice 98
Glossary 114
References 116
Index 122
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Foreword
If you are a student on a nursing course, or improving your learning in practice
skills, the process is exciting and challenging in equal measures. It’s exciting
because there are new things to learn which will bring riches as an academic
award or career opportunities. It’s challenging because you are expected to
follow a course that has hardly a moment to spare. One minute you are in the
classroom and the next you are in a ward full of very ill or recovering patients, or
perhaps spending time with a person who needs gentle patience and
understanding to support them through a distressing experience. The
juxtaposition of experiences and variation is an essential part of the learning
landscape. Kath Sharples offers you, in this book, the tools to manage your
learning as you travel across that landscape.
An overview of the historical background to the pre-registration course will help
you understand why your learning is guided by the NMC standards and the
importance of learning in practice. The book explores the differences between
your approach to learning as an adult to that as a child, and the impact your
previous learning experiences can have on your learning now. Sections on the
vital role that mentors play, how you can work with them to support your
learning, and the importance of assessing your own learning style to get the best
from practice learning will help you make the most of your time.
Preparing for your practical learning is an investment. The book demonstrates
how you can plan for your personal needs and different situations. A key to
making your learning work for you will be your drive, determination and
motivation. Practice environments will provide you with a wealth of different
learning experiences. Your own enthusiasm for taking each of those experiences
and turning them into a learning opportunity will be your strongest ally. In this
book you will find many strategies, underpinned with practical examples and
research, to assist you complete the competencies you will need in your course.
There may be challenges ahead; however, the tactics you need to ‘learn to learn’
are here and will help you achieve your ambition.
Shirley Bach
Series Editor
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to Mel, Lyn and Anne, my colleagues in the Practice Education Support
Unit, Thames Valley University, who provide endless support always.
Thanks to Karen Elcock (Practice Education Support Unit, Thames Valley
University) whose passion for practice education is a constant inspiration.
Thanks to the pre-registration nursing students at Thames Valley University who
teach me something new every day.
Thanks to Di Page for her encouragement and Becky Taylor at Learning Matters
for her constant words of wisdom, and for making the whole process enjoyable
from beginning to end.
Special thanks to Ann for her belief, encouragement, support and love.
Kath Sharples
The author and publisher would like to thank the following for permission to
reproduce copyright material:
Dennison, B and Kirk, R, Do, Review, Learn, Apply: A simple guide to
experiential learning. Copyright © 1990, Blackwell Education, Oxford.
Adapted Figure 2.7, ‘The Johari window’, p29, reproduced with kind permission
of Blackwell Education.
Honey, P and Mumford, A, The Manual of Learning Opportunities. Copyright ©
1989, Peter Honey Publications, Maidenhead, UK.
Adapted table on ‘Conscious Learning’, p1, reproduced with kind permission of
Peter Honey Publications, Maidenhead, UK.
Honey, P and Mumford, A, The Manual of Learning Styles. Copyright © 1992,
Peter Honey Publications, Maidenhead, UK.
Adapted learning cycle diagram, p. 7 and Learning Styles text extract, pp5–6,
reproduced with kind permission of Peter Honey Publications. The publisher
would like to note that The Manual of Learning Styles is now out of print and has
been replaced by Honey, P and Mumford, A, 2006, The Learning Styles
Questionnaire, 80-item version, Peter Honey Publications, Maidenhead, UK.
Kolb, David A, Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development. Copyright © 1984, p42.
Figure 3.1 adapted by permission of Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle
River, NJ.
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Pattison, D, Parsons, D and Weatherhead, C, Connecting reflective practice with 1
clinical supervision, in Ghaye, T and Lilliman, S (eds) Effective Clinical 2
Supervision: The role of reflection. Copyright © 2000, Quay Books, Salisbury, 3
Wiltshire. 4
Adapted text extract, p76, reproduced with kind permission of Quay Books, MA 5
Healthcare Ltd. 6
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Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders within the book, but if 8
any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to make the 9
necessary arrangements at the first opportunity. 10
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Acknowlegdements
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Introduction: Your training – your career
Congratulations on choosing a career in nursing. You are training to enter a very
special profession that very few other professions can equal. By reading this
book it can be assumed that you wish to improve your ability to learn in, through
and during practice placements. Perhaps you are at the beginning of your
training programme and wish to prepare for that first experience of being ‘in
practice’. Or maybe you have progressed in your training and are looking for
ways to hone your ability to learn ‘in practice’. Whatever the reason, rest assured
that this book is for you. Not only is there advice for practice learning, it will
also help to allay common fears, and perhaps even correct some misconceptions
related to the clinical environment you may have. Essentially, this book will be a
guide for what to learn in practice, how to learn in practice and when to learn in
practice.
The standards to be a nurse
The standards that you need to reach in order to qualify as a registered nurse
have been set for you by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The
Standards of Proficiency for Pre-registration Nursing Education (NMC, 2004)
contains a list of specific competencies that you must achieve in order to
progress in your course. The first progression point is from the Common
Foundation Programme into the Branch Programme. The second progression
point is for entry into the professional register. In order to achieve a competent
standard at each progression point, you will need to demonstrate that you have
the skills to learn in practice.
The Essential Skills Clusters for Pre-registration Nursing Programmes
(NMC, 2007) also contains a list of specific competencies that you must achieve
in order to progress in your course. Once again, the first progression point is
from the Common Foundation Programme into the Branch Programme. The
second progression point is for entry into the professional register. In both cases,
there are competencies that are dependent on, and link to, your ability to learn in
practice. The following boxes contain these specific competencies.
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