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Historical Imagination: The Past is Always Present

November 27, 2017

Associate Professor Pamela Wood
“Historical Imagination: The Past is Always Present”
Keynote paper presented at the ANEC conference, September 2017

Overview:

The past is always with us, so why not utilise it in nursing education? Engaging with the past means we use our historical imagination, not only to learn about nursing in decades gone by but to see the present in a new way. This presentation will show how nurse educators can use the past and draw on students’ historical imagination. As a particular example, it will show how ideas and practices related to preventing and treating wound sepsis 100 years ago can challenge us today.

Looking back at five years of a blended online BN curriculum from a faculty perspective. Alexa Hantler & Kathy Monson

Background

The blended online approach to teaching and learning has become common in the delivery of Bachelor of Nursing curricula, both in New Zealand and overseas within the last two decades. There is considerable literature evaluating its effectiveness to date both from the student and faculty perspectives. Objective This presentation will outline the findings of a research project that aims to explore the experiences of nursing faculty who have been involved with a blended online Bachelor of Nursing curriculum since its introduction five years ago in a New Zealand regional tertiary institution. The aim is to not only reflect on the past five years, but inform the next five as well. While the BN curriculum we are investigating has been evaluated many times by students, there has been to date no evaluation from the faculty perspective. This research project is currently in progress, with a completion date of August 2017. Methodology Nursing faculty members who have been and/or are currently involved with the development and delivery of a blended online BN curriculum will be approached, and a focus group interview will be held. Data analysis will be based on strategies described by Benner (1994). This paper will present results, conclusions and recommendations that emerge from the data analysis. Key words Teaching; blended learning; nursing; faculty.

Sickness presenteeism: Nurses sick and at work – are educators aware and should we be concerned? Clare Buckley & Elaine Papps

 “Sister Evans should really have been off duty, but managed to keep going….” (New Zealand nurse, January 1919) “I have turned up for work even when my head has been thumping with a headache….” (New Zealand nurse, 2015) “…even though I’m extremely tired and mentally exhausted, I still come to work.” (South Australian nurse, 2015) Sickness presenteeism (SP) refers to workers attending work despite being unwell. As the quotes above indicate, there is evidence from historical records and research suggesting that nurses have practised SP since at least 1919 and that this continues today. Research identifies that nurses have some of the highest rates of SP of all occupational groups. The consequences of nurses practising SP are found in their poorer health and that of their patients. This latter consequence includes the risk of contagion; increased drug errors, rates of falls and other adverse events; and an increased risk of essential nursing care being omitted. This presentation suggests that SP is a learned behaviour that begins at the point of nursing education. In addition, the pressure to complete clinical hours and to make a good impression promotes the practice in nursing students and in new graduate nurses undertaking NETP programmes. In light of the consequences of SP, this presentation argues that it is time to address and transform nurses’ SP attitudes and to promote nurses’ health. One way to achieve this is through education, and the first questions must be, ‘are educators aware of SP, and should we be concerned?’ Key words: sickness presenteeism; nursing culture; socialization; nursing; faculty.