Abstract:

During the last three years the School of Nursing and Midwifery at a regional University in Australia has undertaken research to explore the needs of nursing professionals engaged in the facilitation and clinical supervision of undergraduate nursing students in the workplace. The research identified the need for the development of a communication strategy that was easily accessible by, and supportive of, clinicians who supervised students. In particular respondents indicated they wanted to receive information that related to the role and function of supervisors in practice which was timely and anticipated their needs. They also wanted a conduit for feedback from the University regarding the work integrated learning undertaken by students. In response to the expressed need for a feedback loop, a digital communication strategy using blogging and micro blogging was established. Furthermore this digital strategy enabled equity of access to geographically dispersed practitioners in urban and rural areas. A range of methods was used to engage clinicians with this approach. Face to face workshops, academic detailing and key change agents were identified to champion and disseminate information about the strategy within their workplaces. Although clinicians had indicated that their preferred method of communication was electronic, subsequent evaluation highlighted systems and individual challenges of communicating with clinical supervisors who were based off-campus. It highlighted that some workplace policies and culture dissuaded engagement with this strategy. Additionally, it was found that some clinical supervisors’ information communication technology literacy was low. This paper outlines the initial research findings and traces the development, implementation and evaluation of the digital communication strategy.

Keywords:

Work integrated learning, digital strategies, nursing, clinical supervision.