Related Experiment Videos
Nursing students' reasoning about two fictitious elderly patient cases
I Fagerberg1, S L Ekman, I Heyman
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Occupational Therapy, and Elderly Care Research, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. ingegerd.fagerberg@mdh.se
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
|May 30, 2002
Summary
Nursing students showed improved reasoning for acute elderly patient cases but not for confused patients. This highlights potential gaps in gerontology education and clinical reasoning guidance.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Clinical Reasoning
- Gerontology
Background:
- Nursing education aims to develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills.
- Understanding the progression of nursing students' reasoning is crucial for curriculum development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the development of nursing students' reasoning and knowledge regarding elderly patient cases.
- To identify factors influencing reasoning development in geriatrics and confusion cases.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of nursing students over three years.
- Analysis of audiotaped descriptions of fictitious elderly patient case histories.
- Verbatim transcription and content analysis of student reasoning.
Main Results:
- Students demonstrated improved reasoning for acute elderly patient scenarios.
- No significant development in reasoning was observed for confused elderly patient cases.
- Potential factors include insufficient gerontology/geriatric education and limited guidance on problem-solving.
Conclusions:
- Nursing curricula may need enhanced gerontology and geriatric content.
- Improved pedagogical strategies are needed to foster clinical reasoning for complex patient presentations.
- Educational traditions may influence the development of specialized reasoning skills.