| Learning Objective #1: Discuss the possible application of this approach for clinical placement needs and the needs of the health care affiliations | |||
| Learning Objective #2: List two positive education outcomes concerning balancing heads and hands |
This presentation highlights a collaborative project between education and service. To improve their track record of recruiting and retaining nurses for their state-of-the-art oncology center, the agency and university faculty re-engineered the oncology orientation curriculum. This strategy allowed nurse faculty to implement a long-planned design for more hands-on learning for their students.
Agency clinical specialists and university faculty collaborated to: 1)design a new curriculum, 2) maximize clinical practice and classroom lectures, 3)develop a pre/post assessment tool, and 4) integrate the ongoing evaluation process.
A curriculum was created that emphasized several components germaine to oncology nursing, such as ethical dilemmas, safety, and the enhancement of critical thinking skills. Students and new staff were provided classroom and clinical experiences in this highly specialized area.
Students worked closely with other members of the health team treating their assigned clients. This innovative approach to service-learning did not include a preceptor. Instead, university faculty and clinical specialist worked closely with students. Faculty and clinical specialists were always present. This was significant because students did not miss any clinical experiences. Missing clinical time because a preceptor was absent or not available has been identified as a negative outcome of service-learning.
This project yielded many positive outcomes: 1) excellent clinical experiences that would not have been possible, 2) hospital education staff were able to evaluate performances of potential applicants for this highly specialized area, and 3) the challenges of the experience influenced several students to accept offers of employment. The agency's workforce increased.
In a small but significant way, this project helped to increase the knowledge and skills of senior baccalaureate nursing students, and assisted the medical center in its recruitment efforts to find graduates with a high potential for success in oncology nursing.
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