Developing and Implementing a philosophy of learning in pre and post registration nursing education: a collaborative project SimBubbles4Healthcare©

To demonstrate collaborative working in implementing an innovative learning strategy to equip the newly qualified nurse with the skills required on qualification within their training and to develop this strategy to skills for both preregistration and post registration nurses. This paper will demonstrate how partnership working with a local NHS trust has led to a change in philosophy in both the HEI and NHS trust in the development of skills for student nurses and how this equips them for the workplace they are entering. Trust partners and local HEI have developed a framework of learning, called SimBubbles4 healthcare. These ‘bubbles’ are learning opportunities that aim to challenge current thinking in learning. It had been noted that the local trust required staff to undergo a pack before commencement of skills, which may have already been gained elsewhere. These skills are sometimes seen as advanced or extended, however, the authors sought to challenge this by embedding skills within a framework. The project took 180 adult student nurses in their final year and taught them the theoretical components of cannulation and phlebotomy, on completion of this element, they were invited to the clinical skills suite to demonstrate competence in implementing this skill in the safe environment of the skills suite on manikins. The third part of this process was allowing students who met other trust and HEI agreed criteria to undergo the skills in the clinical setting. This resulted in around 80 students who were deemed competent to carry out this task in practice. This has resulted in a reduction in education required in the local trust on qualification and has even been seen as satisfactory for other trusts where students procured jobs. The development of the SimBubbles4healthcare has already been developed in a similar project for trust staff for training in using the new observations documentation released in 2014 and further SimBubbles are being planned for male catheterisation and bladder scanning. The SimBubble attempts to utilise simulation to enhance the theoretical elements of learning to enhance and develop safe practice