Linda Burke

University College Cork | UCC · Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

AimTo map current selection and recruitment processes for newly qualified nurses and to explore the advantages and limitations of current selection and recruitment processes.Background The need to improve current selection and recruitment practices for newly qualified nurses is highlighted in health policy internationally.DesignA cross-sectional, s...

Aim This paper reports a study commissioned to address concerns that not all Newly Qualified Nurses (NQNs) were perceived to be competent at the point of appointment to their first post. It seeks to understand how competence is interpreted in the context of selection and recruitment and explore the different expectations and experiences of employin...

Background: A study was undertaken into preceptors' perceptions of a preceptorship programme for newly-qualified nurses. The preceptorship programme is designed to enable newly qualified nurses to make the transition from student to registered nurse. Preceptors undergo a training programme to take on the role of preceptor. Objectives: To evaluat...

Aim: This paper presents the evaluation of a preceptorship programme for newly-qualified nurses (NQNs) to determine preceptee engagement with the preceptorship programme, and the impact, value and sustainability of the programme from the preceptees' perspectives. Background: The literature suggests that NQNs find the transition from student to q...

Background: Securing employment after qualification is of utmost importance to newly qualified nurses to consolidate knowledge and skills. The factors that influence success in gaining this first post are not known. Objectives: The study aimed to describe the first post gained after qualification in terms of setting, nature of employment contrac...

davis c. & burke l. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 20, 782–793 The effectiveness of clinical supervision for a group of ward managers based in a district general hospital: an evaluative study Aim To present an evaluative audit assessing the effectiveness of clinical supervision for ward managers. Background A year-long project to introduce cl...

In universities where significant numbers of nursing students come from non-traditional backgrounds, and where an equally significant proportion of students have English as a second language, provision of learning support is essential to ensure success and progression, and to prevent attrition. This paper presents an evaluative study of the support...

Enabling student nurses to learn and develop evidence-based clinical skills is the cornerstone of nursing education programmes. This article describes the implementation of a peer assessment scheme for clinical skills within a skills laboratory in a university school of nursing, and the link between peer assessment and clinical skills development....

Vocationally based higher education programmes are meant to prepare people for employment in their chosen fields of study. In nursing, historically, employment after qualifying has been almost assured, with sufficient vacancies available for newly qualified nurses. Recently, however, for a number of reasons, primarily related to economic conditions...

This paper reports on a pilot project which provided writing support for registered nurses undertaking Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and for pre‐registration nursing students. Both groups of students have English as a second language (ESL). The aims of the project were to extend the scope of the available writing support within the facu...

The Academic, Personal and Professional Learning (APPL) model of support for student nurses was developed and implemented as a pilot project in the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences of a university in response to a number of internal and external drivers. The common theme across these drivers was the enhancement of the social, academic and...

Chronic heart failure (CHF) prevalence is on the increase in the UK, with readmissions to hospital and length of stay remaining a significant problem both for patients and the NHS. The role of the clinical nurse specialist in the management of CHF patients has yielded positive results in a number of previous studies. Aim: To evaluate the effectiven...

Use of simulation is well established as a way of learning and assessing skills in vocational disciplines. In many institutions the use of simulation with student nurses is being tested as a way of helping them learn clinical skills, problem‐solving, clinical assessment and decision‐making. This paper explores the value of simulation as a learning...

Evidence suggests that nurse documentation is often inconsistent and lacks a coherent and standardized approach. This article reports on research into the use of nurse documentation on a stoma care ward in a large London hospital, and explores the factors that may affect the process of record keeping by nursing staff. This study uses stoma care as...

This article presents a pilot study that was undertaken to test the Snapshot tool-an innovative tool for making judgements about clinical practice performance. An evaluative research design was used. The Snapshot tool was designed and was piloted on two groups of students (n=180; n=152) in a university-based simulation setting. Data were collected...

Some undergraduate programmes require evidence of baseline numeracy skills as a condition of entry. With a widened entry gate into higher education and a recognised ‘mathematics problem’ in society, students wishing to enrol onto degree programmes that require evidence of numeracy often find it difficult to provide such evidence. Numeracy skills of...

This article describes the use of an Electronic Voting System (EVS) in large group lectures within a business and management undergraduate degree programme, in an attempt to make them more interactive. The intention was to ensure that the introduction of the EVS‐style lecture was educationally driven, linked to interactive learning activities in th...

One of the features of foundation degrees (FDs) is the incorporation of work‐based learning (WBL) into the curriculum. WBL is seen as an important part of vocational programmes and is described by Foundation Degrees Forward (FDF) as a potentially radical approach to connecting work with learning. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), in its benchmark...

Ways in which aspects of the student experience associated with first‐year retention at university are likely to be influenced by the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) are explored here through structured interviews with academic staff and students at one institution (Kingston University). This research finds that some assumptions made ab...

For many years, face-to-face peer mentoring has been a feature of learning support provided to first- year undergraduate students at one university in the UK. Building on the success of these initiatives, a scheme has been developed at this institution in which first-year undergraduates are mentored by second- and third-year students through a vari...

Introducing technology in higher education raises questions about staff roles and the organisation of development practices. This article presents the findings from a case study that was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of introducing three centrally supported e‐developers to work with academic teams to provide specialist support. The e‐dev...

Introducing technology in higher education raises questions about staff roles and the organisation of development practices. This article presents the findings from a case study that was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of introducing three centrally supported e-developers to work with academic teams to provide specialist support. The e-dev...

The Department of English Literature at Kingston University piloted an innovative Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) programme as part of a two-year pilot project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) Widening Participation Fund. The project aimed to enable first-year students to develop academic writing skills related to a...

This article presents a case study of the impact on student learning of introducing an electronic voting system (EVS) into large-group lectures for first-year undergraduate students undertaking degrees in marketing and business systems. We discuss the potential for using EVS-style interactive lectures in marketing and business programmes. We then d...

ston.ac.uk This article presents a case study of the impact on student learning of introducing an electronic voting system (EVS) into large-group lectures for first-year undergraduate students undertaking degrees in marketing and business systems. We discuss the potential for using EVS-style interactive lectures in marketing and business programmes...

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a system of student support used in a growing number of universities in the UK and worldwide. Practitioners in the School of Surveying at Kingston University have been running such a scheme for first-year undergraduates since 1990 (Author 2003) and have recently undertaken a research project into perceptions of PAL b...

To explore the nature of the relationship between purchasers and providers from the perspectives of the key individuals involved in healthcare education in the late 1990s. To discuss the lessons that can be learned for nursing from their experiences. Although the findings illustrate experiences of individuals at a specific time, the issues that ari...

Before 1989, with the exception of a small number of nursing degree courses, most of nursing education within England was located within the NHS. Yet by 1995, all schools of nursing had been integrated into higher education institutions. Despite the significance of this change, there has been little discussion or empirical research within the nursi...

This paper discusses the impact of the introduction of a virtual learning environment (VLE) on teaching practices within a new university in the UK, and explores the factors that have encouraged or, conversely, discouraged, the adoption of the VLE by teaching staff, from the latter's perspective. It is based on findings from the analysis of qualita...