Inter-professional learning: discussion groups in a minor surgery skills course for nurses

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nursing Education
• Inter-professional Learning

Background:

• Inter-professional teaching and learning are crucial for healthcare education.
• Anxiety among nurses during skills assessments can impede learning and performance.
• Previous courses lacked sufficient support mechanisms for managing assessment-related anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an inter-professional educational intervention using structured discussion groups.
• To assess the impact of these groups on nurses' anxiety levels during minor surgery training.
• To explore the benefits of facilitated discussion groups for both nursing and medical students.

Main Methods:

• Nurses and medical students participated in a course on minor surgery.
• Semi-structured discussion groups, facilitated by medical students, were implemented.
• Participant experiences were gathered through written evaluations and group interviews.

Main Results:

• The inter-professional discussion groups successfully reduced unhelpful anxiety in nurses.
• Participants reported additional benefits from the collaborative learning environment.
• The intervention proved effective in enhancing the educational experience for both nurses and medical students.

Conclusions:

• Structured inter-professional discussion groups are a valuable tool in healthcare education.
• This intervention effectively mitigated anxiety and fostered mutual learning between nurses and medical students.
• Further research is warranted to explore the long-term benefits of such collaborative educational models.