ISSN 2348-1218 (print) International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations ISSN 2348-1226 (online) Vol. 9, Issue 3, pp: (59-67), Month: July - September 2021, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
The Meaning of Teaching - in the Clinical Practice of Estonian Student Nurses: Hermeneutic Research Kristel Kotkas1, Larissa Jõgi2, Anja Heikkinen3 Faculty of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University, Estonia1,2 & Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Finland3 Corresponding author: krkotkas@tlu.ee
Abstract: Teaching patients is part of the nursing profession and the objective of the European nursing degree education reforms in the early 2000s. Still, during their internship, student nurses are exposed to a diversity of curricula, different teachers, learning goals and teaching methods. The aim of the paper is to explore, how the Estonian student nurses have adopted the (patient)teaching paradigm. A qualitative study applied a hermeneutic approach. Thematic written interviews accompanied by a drawing task were collected from student nurses returning to school from their final internship. Data was analyzed using a content analysis. Analysis of the written answers and drawings show that the curriculum has been the main factor in the learning process in internalizing the new teaching paradigm. The internship, which challenged the students’ conceptions about teaching and the meanings that arose, was viewed in relation to motivator-hygiene theory. The success of the learning process seems to have required a ‘learning by doing’ teaching experience based on the new curriculum, to which each learner added the holistic context of individual intellectual contributions. In the context of Estonian curriculum reform, the student nurses can initiate changes related to clinical teaching and motivate nurse practitioners towards their professional development. Keywords: nursing student; learning; (clinical)teaching; professional identity; qualitative design.
I. INTRODUCTION Professional healthcare is based on the obligation to save the patient's life and restore community health. In addition to specific medical knowledge and clinical skills, the Registered Nurse (hereinafter nurse) must be a patient health educator to assist the patient in making and implementing health-related decisions. Nurses are simultaneously professionals and learners, whose learning takes place primarily in the workplace before and after graduation. Their learning can only be constructive through real-life experiences, leading to the integration of new ideas with theoretical foundations, and facilitating the personal reflection and collective experience [1]. Interdisciplinary professional coping, learning, and teaching is connected to continuous professional development, supported by the identity of the nurse [2]. An environment where the teacher's identity forms a natural part of the nurse's identity supports learning in the workplace [3]. One of the important meanings of teaching is teacher cognition, which refers to knowledge and beliefs teachers have about their teaching, that guides their professional practice and represents their comprehension of teaching. Teacher cognition is closely related to teacher learning in the meaning of acquiring new knowledge and using it to improve one‟s own professional practice, thereby forming the basis of professional development [4]. Within health education, there are two main ways to support learning, including the practice of a holistic approach. First, each theoretical subject cycle (clinical, paediatric, intensive, health and mental health nursing) is followed by an internship. The learning of student nurses, as real work experience in the future workplace is treated here as a process where knowledge and understanding of individuals develop in interaction with others. A supportive environment plays an
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