A general request to fellow list members:
I have of course got Dorothy Gilroy's excellent 'Advice to a trainee
nurse' in 'Dyslexia at College' (2nd ed.) However, a young woman I am
supporting at Brighton University has working memory difficulties which
go beyond spelling. She is concerned about remembering detailed
observations about a patient (pulse/temp/BP etc) and noting them
accurately, as well as about processing oral instructions when on duty.
The classic line: 'I work better with written information' may help in
an office, but is unlikely to be well received on a busy ward.
Has anyone any advice or strategies I can pass on? Or can anyone point
me to a source of the same? One of my research interviewees told me she
used to write everything on the bottom of her apron, which sounds
somewhat desperate. But ward sisters can be very sniffy about tape
recorders and note-books on strings. I know it is a matter of
negotitation, and showing that the student is actively engaging with her
difficulties as well as having strengths.
But a hospital is there for the patients. So my other question is: when
do we reach the point when we have to advise a student that nursing is
not for her?
David Pollak [log in to unmask]
Library House
Iford phone: +44 1273 487780
Lewes fax/modem: +44 1273 487172
East Sussex BN7 3EU
UK
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