Blogtext
Zhuldyz Kuanysh, PhD student, Karaganda Medical University, Kazakhstan
Saltanat Serikova, PhD student, Karaganda Medical University, Kazakhstan
Hanna Hopia, PhD, Docent, Principal lecturer, Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Finland
INTERNSHIP AT JAMK: GAINING EXPERIENCES AND TRANSFORMING THEM INTO KNOWLEDGE AND ACTIONS
We, Zhuldyz Kuanysh and Saltanat Serikova, underwent a 7-week scientific internship at the Jamk University of Applied Sciences as part of the AccelEd Erasmus+ project in spring 2023. Overall, we learned different types of teaching methods carried out at Jamk, and we got acquainted with new research methods as well as development projects in nursing and rehabilitation.
The internship included various activities aimed at increasing the scientific potential of doctoral students, such as attending the classes of nursing students and shadowing the implementation of the training. According to Zhuldyz, “Shadowing and observation helped us get acquainted with modern teaching approaches and methodology”. Today, it is relevant to utilise new teaching approaches, as they may increase the effectiveness of learning. We noticed that novel methods used in teaching and learning allow teachers to keep abreast of the latest trends and to effectively adapt to new requirements and innovations in the field of education.
In addition, we familiarised ourselves with the current projects carried out at Jamk, such as the “Student-run Interdisciplinary Allied Health Digital practice centre” (SIAHDPC) (https://siahdpc.com/), “Gamification in Mental Health Nursing (several projects)”, and “Health Literacy in Physiotherapy Education” (HELPE) (https://www.jamk.fi/en/research-and-development/rdi-projects/health-literacy-in-physiotherapy-education). These scientific and quality improvement projects are an important engine of science and technology, and at the same time, these kinds of projects play an important role in the development of Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) personnel’s skills and knowledge.
We also familiarised ourselves with the Data Management Plan tool (DMPTuuli) (https://oppimateriaalit.jamk.fi/opinnaytetyo/en/project-plan-and-schedule/processing-of-research-data/) and prepared a plan according to our dissertation topic. The Data Management Plan is necessary for researchers, doctoral students as well as for master’s students to organise and effectively manage data in the process of scientific research. It describes how research data is planned to be collected, stored, processed, analysed, and disseminated, as well as how to ensure its long-term preservation and availability for future research.
During our internship, we visited twice the local Nova Hospital, where we were introduced to the structure of the hospital and the electronic patient record system used in wards and clinics. Furthermore, we observed nurses’ daily work on how they practice autonomously and exercise independent judgement. We also learned how multidisciplinary teams are working smoothly with different skills and expertise. The key takeaways from the visits were the following: in order for nurses to practice autonomously and independently, it is necessary to develop and implement a classifier of nursing services and classification of nursing interventions based on international practices such as the Classification of Nursing Diagnoses (NANDA), the Classification of Nursing Interventions (NIC), and the Classification of Nursing Outcomes (NOC). Just like doctors, nurses should also have their own electronic signature and an official form of nursing documentation. These above-mentioned aspects are essential for nurses to practice independently in Kazakhstan.
Learning about nurses’ work at the Nova Hospital was valuable for us, as it gave us new ideas and thoughts for our Doctoral research projects. Saltanat noted that for her dissertation, which is aimed at studying the delegation of work of nurses, it is important to understand international practices in this area. For example, learning about nurses’ roles and responsibilities and understanding the main distinctions between the scope of practice of nurses and physicians were the most essential learning experiences for her.
Overall, the internship period provided us multiple new insights concerning nursing research, nursing education, development projects, and nurses’ daily work in healthcare. We will definitely continue to utilize these new ideas, methods, and practices in our work and actively share our experiences with our colleagues in Kazakhstan.
Coordinators
Jūratė Macijauskienė, project coordinator
Živilė Kepežinskienė, project manager
Editorial team
Dinara Kozhakhmetova, responsible for WP4 Dissemination
Baituganova Aizhan, responsible for WP4 Dissemination