Abstract
Background:Many studies examine nurses’ numeracy skills in relation to drug calculations. Overwhelmingly they focus upon the nurses’ ability, to perform well in a drug calculation test. Out of context these studies provide little evidence of the complexities surrounding the process of mathematical problem solving during drug calculations. The aim of this study was to address the gap within the literature and to examine through the lens of Situated Learning (SL), how registered nurses in a Community of Practice (CoP), the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) achieved mastery of mathematical knowledge, which enabled them to precisely calculate neonatal drug dosages. The selected research design for this thesis was a single case study.
Methods:
A pragmatist approach was adopted for this study. Data was captured through three qualitative methods. Firstly, the focus group discussion; secondly, participant observation and thirdly individual semi-structured interviews. Twelve registered nurses were purposefully selected to participate in the study. The focus group comprised five nurses. Participant observation amounted to 150 hours over a 24-hour shift pattern. Three nurses were selected for interview according to their age and experience. The final stage of data analysis was data integration during which themes were merged to produce a new theme variant. This process was chosen as in line with pragmatist enquiry it provided a holistic portrayal of all three data sets.
Themes:
Through a process of thematic analysis, themes were captured across the data corpus. These themes were categorised for discussion. Several phenomena were identified: nurses’ reflection of events which affect calculation competence; engagement with members of the communities of practice when involved with drug calculations; personal activity during calculations; impact of culture on drug calculations and the adoption of a holistic approach during neonatal drug calculations.
Conclusions:
An innovative approach to learning can be introduced to nurse educationalists and policy makers. The key words from the discussion criteria: reflection, engagement, activity, culture, and holistic form the acronym REACH. This has been utilised to develop a worksheet for furthering nurses’ knowledge and skills with drug calculations.
| Date of Award | 15 Nov 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Elisabeth Barratt Hacking (Supervisor), Susan Martin (Supervisor) & Steve Gough (Supervisor) |