Topic outline
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Difficulties with basic numeracy skills and the inability to apply them in the clinical context affect the progress of study and employment prospects of some beginning university students, as does English language anxiety in international students (McMullan, Jones & Lea 2012; Zhang & Mi 2013). Numeracy skills are needed for safe medication calculations and nursing care. The incidence of medication errors and adverse drug events were reported high by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (2013). Anxiety is compounded by the need to achieve 100% proficiency in medication calculations to undertake clinical placement and successfully move through their nursing program.
Many international students, new to Australia and university, tend to have very good math skills (Ramjan et al. 2014), but often lack confidence in interacting with fellow local students. This can affect their success in progressing through their nursing program, especially on clinical placement. Students beginning nursing Health Science courses may feel overwhelmed by their proposed studies, university transition and relocation, especially international students.Early identification of students who may be struggling in one or more study areas is essential for their psychosocial wellbeing and how they view their time at university (Schelle et al. 2011). Currently, UniSA nursing students struggling with numeracy, are not formally identified until their first mid-year exam although tutors spend time in tutorials guiding numeracy and medication activities. However, anxious students may `slip through the cracks'. The challenge is how to achieve competence, reduce anxiety and improve students' confidence and learning experience (Galligan, Loch & Lawrence 2008). International students are confronted with profound and challenging circumstance of adjusting to, both the higher education institutions, to new societal norms and values (Zhang & Mi 2013).
One major challenge is mastering the English language and international students experience psychosocial effects of English language anxiety, embarrassment, frustration, homesickness, isolation and loneliness (Sawir et al. 2008). Newly arrived international students may also find themselves in `relational deficit' that affects their sense of connectedness, belonging, security and acceptance which, in turn influences, their engagement with peers and subsequent satisfaction with university. Engagement between the international students and their English speaking peers has the potential to set foundations for lasting connections (friendships) and fosters a sense of belongingness through the harmony between professional and/or personal values. Furthermore, Humphries (2011) suggests that friendships and developing a sense of belonging helps diminish English language anxiety. Yates & Wahid (2013) suggest universities need to be proactive in creating novel ways to facilitate interaction that are more than just social interaction between groups. Peer program participation and its relationship to international students adjustment into universities have received limited exploration and the understanding of these student' sense of connectedness and belongingness remains poorly understood (Levett-Jones & Lathlean 2008).
This pilot project creates a novel way to facilitate an active learning experience by enabling such interaction, in nursing students and will address a gap in the existing literature.
References:
Australian Institute of Health & Welfare 2013, Australian Hospital Statistics 2011-2012. Health series no. 50. Cat. no. HSE 134. Canberra: AIHW.
Galligan, L. Loch, B & Lawrence, J. 2008 'Building academic numeracy in a first year nursing course using an evaluative model of program development' Learning, Media and Technology, vol. 33 no.3 pp.169-189.
Humphries, R 2011 Language Anxiety in International Students: How can it be overcome? Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and intercultural Communication, 4 (1/2), 65-77.
Levett-Jones T & Lathlean 2008. Belongingness: A prerequisite for nursing students’ clinical learning Nurse Education in Practice 8, 103–111.
McMullan, M., Jones, R & Lea, S. 2012 Math Anxiety, self-efficacy and Ability in British Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Research in Nursing & Health, vol.35, pp.178-186
Sander, T. & Cleary, S. 2004 ‘Medication mathematics competency for bachelor of nursing students: results and challenges of a first year screening test’ Studies in Learning, Evaluation. Innovation and Development vol. 1, no. 2, pp45-52.
Sawir, E., Marginson, S., Deumert, A. Nyland, C & Ramia, G. 2007. 'Loneliness and International Students: An Australian Study', Journal of studies in international education, 1028-3153, vol. 12, no. 2, p 148-181.
Schelle, T., Pruitt, R Johnson, A., & Xu, Y. 2011. What do we know about educating Asian ESL nursing students? A literature review. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32 (4), 244-249.
Yates L & Wahid R 2013 Challenge to Brand Australia: international students and the problem with speaking Higher Education Research & Development 32 (6),1037-1050.