Nursing lecturer's work recognised at NZ conference

Nursing Senior Lecturer Kerry Davis has been flying the flag for Otago Polytechnic at the recent Intravenous Nursing New Zealand conference.

Held in Christchurch, the conference attracted 165 delegates from New Zealand and abroad.

As well as being involved in judging oral papers, Kerry submitted a poster, “Medication Safety by Design - a deliberate investment in Senior Person's Health”, which won the Best Poster prize.

“The poster was well received with judges commenting that it reflected an ongoing investment in the development of a work-ready future workforce that can positively impact patient outcomes,” Kerry reflects.

Her poster outlined the successful design and delivery of Otago Polytechnic's undergraduate nursing course in senior person’s health, now in its third year. 

“One driver for this course was the need to increase the critical thinking skills and knowledge of student nurses, so that they might support better later life through the mitigation of adverse medication events.  

Aged care is a complex and rapidly expanding specialty. More than 30% of seniors over the age of 75 are prescribed five or more medications. 

“The course prepares future nurses to be capable and courageous practitioners, navigating a rapidly changing landscape of legislative, interprofessional and technological advances,” Kerry explains. 

“The course employs learner-centred pedagogy to engage learners with medication safety issues affecting seniors. Experiential learning methods include simulation, empathy scoring, dual coding, guest seniors, roleplay and clinical labs. This preparation then culminates in a clinical placement in an aged residential care (ARC) facility.”