Nurses are in an excellent position to teach the public about skin cancer prevention and perform cancer screenings. This study was designed to test an educational intervention intended to teach nursing students about skin cancer so they can reach competence and be certified by faculty to educate their patients. Similarly, students are educated and certified in other areas, namely, asthma and naloxone administration. By conducting this quasi-experimental study, the researchers sought to evaluate the effectiveness of adding online skin cancer education to traditional educational methods. Using a quasi-experimental design, we assigned nursing students (n = 146) to either an intervention group, which received an online educational treatment, or a control group, which did not receive any such treatment. Both groups then completed a posttest measure assessing their knowledge about skin cancer (“knowledge”), sun protective behaviors (“behavior”), and perceptions about the role of the nurse in skin cancer prevention (“role”). Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher scores on the “behavior” and “role” measures, suggesting that the intervention had successfully impacted these dimensions.
Background
There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of skin cancer; over 1 million new cases are diagnosed annually. Approximately one person dies from skin cancer per hour in this country. Nurses are in an excellent position to perform screenings for cancer, and skin cancer screenings should be taught in the nursing curriculum. The use of simulation increases knowledge and efficacy.
Methods
A cross-sectional study examining the use of moulages and simulation as an educational intervention on the knowledge of skin cancer, sun protective behaviors, and role of the nurse in skin cancer prevention in second-year nursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program.
Results
Students did not differ on baseline knowledge. However, the intervention group showed significant increased knowledge in all outcomes.
Conclusions
Increasing understanding of skin cancer with the use of moulages and simulation enhanced education and expertise in recognizing skin cancers.
Medical surgical nurses frequently care for patients with psychiatric disorders as one in four people have a diagnosed psychiatric disorder. Since these nurses specialize in medical surgical nursing, they often feel they lack the expertise to care for patients with co-morbid psychiatric problems. This article presents three case studies and delineates nursing care strategies which could assist the medical-surgical nurses in caring for this population.
Skin cancer rates are increasing in Ireland, making skin cancer prevention a serious public healthcare issue. We replicated a quasi-experimental study assessing the effectiveness of an educational skin cancer intervention. This intervention was effective as an educational adjunct in teaching American nursing students. The current study, conducted at a college in Ireland, was intended to evaluate its effectiveness among Irish nursing (n = 115) and agricultural (n = 60) students. Students were assigned to one control group and two intervention groups: lecture only, and lecture and skin analyzer machine. It was hypothesized that both the lecture-only and lecture and skin analyzer machine groups would have higher posttest scores than the control group in three domains: “knowledge” (skin cancer knowledge), “behavior” (adoption of sun protective behaviors), and “role” (willingness and self-efficacy to assume the role of teaching others about skin cancer). Our findings supported the study’s hypotheses. Among both nursing and agricultural students, both intervention groups had higher scores than the control groups in posttest measures of behavior, knowledge, and role. This study revealed that both the lecture-only and lecture and skin analyzer machine interventions are effective teaching methodologies to personalize the risk of sun damage.
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