www.openup.co.uk Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Philip Scullion ❙ David Guest Scullion ❙ Guest Ø See Website for careers advice Series Editor: David Canter This book is an essential course companion for nursing and midwifery students at degree and diploma level, as well as those returning to study. It covers key skills and knowledge needed, such as: ◆ Study strategies ◆ Reflective practice ◆ Critical thinking ◆ Using evidence for practice ◆ Exam techniques ◆ Literature searching ◆ How to succeed in assessments Lively and accessible, the book includes bullet points and exercises that will enhance reader efficiency in learning. The book also has an accompanying website, www.openup.co.uk/ nursingsuccess, that is written specifically for this market, and includes tips on: ◆ Writing CVs and covering letters ◆ Finding a good job ◆ Interview skills ◆ Continuing professional development (CPD) for nurses and midwives ◆ Career progression Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students has been carefully structured to be used throughout a nursing or midwifery career. It is key reading for new students in midwifery and all fields of nursing, as well as qualified staff who aim to enhance their professional development. Philip Scullion is based at Coventry University and has over twenty years of experience teaching a range of undergraduate and postgraduate students including those in the fields of nursing, midwifery and paramedic sciences. David Guest is the Nursing and Midwifery Subject Librarian at Coventry University. He has developed numerous teaching and learning programmes to support students in information retrieval skills, efficient use of library facilities and advanced literature searching and evaluation skills. Ø www.openup.co.uk/nursingsuccess Cover design Hybert Design • www.hybertdesign.com Successful Studying 08:57:03:07:07 Page 1 Page 1 Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students 08:57:03:07:07 Page 2 Page 2 08:57:03:07:07 Page 3 Page 3 Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Philip A. Scullion and David A. Guest 08:57:03:07:07 Page 4 Page 4 Open University Press McGraw-Hill Education McGraw-Hill House Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead Berkshire England SL6 2QL email: enquiries@openup.co.uk world wide web: www.openup.co.uk and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA First published 2007 Copyright © Philip Scullion and David Guest 2007 All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS. A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN-10: 0 335 22220 X (pb) 0 335 22221 8 (hb) ISBN-13: 978 0 335 22220 9 (pb) 978 0 335 22221 6 (hb) Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data CIP data applied for Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in Poland by OZGraf S.A. www.polskabook.pl 08:57:03:07:07 Page 5 Page 5 Contents Series editor’s preface vii Part 1 The student nurse and midwife as a novice learner 1 Engaging with university learning 1 2 Taking control of yourself: nurses and midwives as learners 10 3 Making information work for nursing and midwifery students 31 Part 2 Beginning to develop effective study skills 4 Strategies for successful learning in nursing and midwifery 45 5Reflective learning in clinical practice 73 Part 3 Becoming competent: advanced learning for nursing and midwifery students 6 Literature searching skills for midwives and nurses 89 7 Proficient use of evidence and research to support nursing and midwifery 109 Part 4 Demonstrating proficiency through assessment 8 Critical analysis and higher-level skills for nurses and midwives 135 9 Coping with examinations and assessments 170 08:57:03:07:07 Page 6 Page 6 Part 5 Expertise for success: the lifelong learner in nursing and midwifery 10 Career pathways in nursing and midwifery 187 11 Lifelong learning organizations and CPD to sustain your professional practice 222 References 209 Glossary 216 Index 219 vi CONTENTS 08:57:03:07:07 Page 7 Page 7 Series editor’s preface Study Skills cover all those abilities that make it possible to cope with the demands of academic and professional pursuits. For people just embarking on a course of study they include being able to deal with all the intellectual, emotional and social challenges that are part of the day-to-day demands of being a student. Beyond the skills involved in coping are those that enable students to do well in their chosen disciplines. These embrace much more than the ability to memorize or understand the topics of study, reaching into time management, ethics and the personal and interpersonal upheavals that are often such an important part of the student’s life. The study skills that are mastered at university, or for some people earlier when studying at school, are central to what everyone has to offer as a graduate and/or professional. Some people would even suggest that the main contribution of a university degree is to provide a person with the skills for studying. It is these skills that will help the person through the rest of their career. Studying is a skill that can be mastered like many others, by first understanding the process then by developing appropriate habits through active involvement. Yet whilst there are some aspects of the process that are common to all forms of study there are often important facets of any particular area of study that demand special skills. Further, even when the skills may be relevant across a number of different disciplines it is usually easier to understand what is required by embedding consideration of them within the specific topic. This series of books is therefore being published with guidance on how to be an effective student within each of a series of specific domains. By dealing with study skills in relation to the area of study it is possible to ensure that the examples are directly pertinent to the student of that area, rather than being general exhort- ations. The books thus complement the many other publications available on such general topics as essay writing or taking examinations. The focus on particular areas of study also enables the authors to follow the particular educational trajectory from the early entry into college or university right through to becoming a recognised professional in the chosen discipline. It allows the authors to draw on examples that speak directly to students about issues in their own lives. It also enables the books to identify particular topics that are of special significance for any given discipline. 08:57:03:07:07 Page 8 Page 8 This series therefore provides a valuable resource to all students that they can draw on as a friend and guide throughout their course of study and beyond. David Canter Series Editor University of Liverpool viii SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE 08:57:03:07:07 Page 1 Page 1 Part 1 The student nurse and midwife as a novice learner [...]... related to nursing or midwifery and ‘process’ which relates to the ways in which you gain that specific content and demonstrate this as evidence of your learning Subject content During your course or module you will pursue knowledge and understanding, and develop cognitive, practical and transferable skills related to the world of your selected branch of nursing or midwifery Professional values and attitudes... dissertation Becoming skilled in studying is often overlooked by students Some of the activities listed above will obviously require you to develop skills such as ‘information seeking’ via the library and the internet Others such as revision or seminar work will be far less obvious Yet in all of these, developing study skills can make your performance more expert, require less effort and will result in gaining... departments ensuring you appear on official module and course lists invoicing for modules and courses, accommodation and fees personal details on awards physical access to facilities receiving your bursary receiving your invitation to the award ceremony confirming details with the Nursing and Midwifery Council which maintains the register of nursing and midwifery qualifications Ice-breakers Some ice-breakers... freely available to students in electronic format Follow up with further reading as required and attend to your notes with particular attention to the session objectives Seminar Topic orientated and take the form of a presentation by lecturers, individual students or small groups of students The style may be informal and one key aim is to allocate around one-third of the available time for discussion since... (student) and practise clinical skills and decision making The more you engage with this the more potential for learning Provides opportunities for team work, rehearsing emergencies and learning where the ‘patient’ is an expensive mannequin rather than a priceless human being! Important to reflect on this experience preferably within the team involved moving and handling in a skills laboratory before being... marks Conclusions University will present a challenge to many nursing and midwifery students This challenge represents positive opportunities to engage with the methods of teaching and learning and the array of departments and people who play a key collaborative role in helping you to make your student experience a success Midwifery and nursing are rapidly developing professions: the subject content... to take responsibility for your own studies and there are many areas where nurses and midwives as learners must take control of themselves The assumption is that you value the outcome of the course or module you are studying for It may bring better career promotion opportunities, be vital for your field of practice and, for most readers, it will secure your place on the Nursing and Table 2.2 Locus of... who meet for a specified purpose It may be early preparation for an assignment or project and may be entirely directed by students who chose to participate Such syndicates may be formed and disbanded according to the task requirements and can make any such work more productive than individuals working in isolation ‘TEAM’, the motto proudly displayed on a grammar school notice board, stands for Together... recognized that both nursing and midwifery are associated with extremes of emotional situations and that learning brings its own raft of stresses and joys Most students are concurrently engaged as learners in practice and cannot avoid the range of emotions, spanning utter despair to elation, experienced by clients and their families Topics studied are also emotionally laden and having to study can itself... course You will need to respect and appreciate their roles and responsibilities to ensure your engagement is as productive as possible Most pressing however will be your experience of the actual teaching and how you and your peers engage with this for effective learning Methods of teaching and learning Most students would expect the course to have lectures and seminars and provide opportunities to develop . www.openup.co.uk Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students Philip. work for nursing and midwifery students 31 Part 2 Beginning to develop effective study skills 4 Strategies for successful learning in nursing and midwifery