Developing postgraduate awards for critical care.
This report outlines a qualitative study that explored the academics' perceptions of postgraduate education for critical care. A framework was generated using models of curriculum design. Focus groups and interviews were undertaken to explore four areas within this framework - taught theory/professional practice, advanced practice skills, assessment and delivery. The findings revealed that ethical and legal aspects of role, research, physiology decision-making and practice skills such as defibrillation, first line treatment and patient assessment were considered extremely relevant to such a programme. Practice assessment was considered essential to ensure clinical credibility of the programme and the practitioner. Frameworks were generated to define the nature of advanced critical care practice. As such, work-based learning and interprofessional supervision were seen as key elements of the programme. Finally areas for further research were identified.
Department of Clinical Health Interventions, Critical Care, Anglia Polytechnic University, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1SQ, UK. p.saggs@apu.ac.uk
Pauline
P
Saggs
D001363:Awards and Prizes; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003479:Curriculum; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017145:Models, Educational; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education; D015402:Nursing Education Research / Q000379:methods; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D006113:United Kingdom