Nursing Practice: Facilitating Workplace Learning in Orthopaedics

This essay reflects on the experience of facilitating workplace learning for new nurses in an orthopaedic setting, utilizing the Gibbs reflective cycle. It details the strategies employed to train nurses in handling patients with bone injuries and post-operative care, focusing on the use of cryo cuffs and the importance of practical experience. The reflection covers the initial challenges, the development of effective teaching methods, and the positive outcomes observed in the nurses' confidence and patient interaction skills. The essay also discusses the importance of role-play and therapeutic communication in nursing practice, highlighting the facilitator's role in creating a beneficial learning environment. The training process not only enhanced the skills of the new nurses but also provided the facilitator with valuable insights into improving future training programs.

Running head: NURSING- FACILITATING WORKPLACE LEARNING
NURSING- FACILITATING WORKPLACE LEARNING
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Introduction:
The learning process is more operative when it is applicable in workplace. Learning
about task is only useful, if the learner cannot use the knowledge successfully in executing a
tasks. There are many tasks for which the workplace is the best learning place, performing
the task according to the job. It is significant for evaluating knowledge, services and approach
among nurses. There are numerous methods that can be used in nursing courses comprising
clinical exercise, direct surveillance, discussion related to case, and group assessments. This
report focuses on nursing experience in orthopaedics. An orthopaedic nursing focuses on
disorders related to bones. These issues are mainly fractured bones, replacement of joints,
arthritis, osteoporosis and malformations. The orthopaedic nurses serves in the operation
theatres as well as support the patents before their operation process (Flynn 2016). It will also
highlight on the use of cryo cuffs. A cryo cuff is used in orthopaedics as cold compress, it is
used in binding the swollen or aching parts in body. It helps is reducing swelling, pain after
injury, surgery or therapy sessions.
Education is an important aspect which plays a significant role in attaining the goals
of any organisation with the means of combination of structural and the employee interests.
Nowadays, worker and employee training is an indispensable factor that is contributing to
better competence of the working staff and the organizations. It is also a vital asset that will
central to the staff progress and success of the structural plans. Training the staff is an
investment that helps in achieving the productivity and the employee holding through which
is providing career growth, work satisfaction and better outcomes for the other stakeholders
in the long run. The importance of facilitated workplace learning is to generate professional
awareness and knowledge among the new nurses. The learning procedure is to train the
orthopaedic nurses for handling challenging cases and to treat patients. It will help the new

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nurses to assess the critical patients and will progress in their profession. A facilitation can be
an important procedure to bring out changes as it authorizes the nurses in the practice to both
problem solving and solution making. In the field of orthopaedic, it will help in bringing out
new strategies to treat patients with bine injuries and post operational patients (Oosterom et
al., 2018). It has been seen that most of the patients are sports persons or people of old age,
so it trains the nurses to handle such patients accordingly, as old age people should be handle
with little more care. And in many cases tit is found that they are not willing or are in a
condition of taking medications, so exercises and technologies are to be used in order to treat
them.
Discussion:
This essay will focus on a reflective writing and strategies in the process of
facilitating workplace learning for orthopaedic nurses. It will focus on the experience, efforts,
strategies and the outcomes that was witnessed during the sessions and throughout the
training process with the nursing students in the orthopaedic department.
Section 1. Reflection on facilitated learning system:
Introduction:
As an assigned nurse, I was given a set of new nurses to train in the field of
orthopaedic. This plan was evolved to generate knowledge about the new techniques and
train the nurses to handle critical patients. In this assignment, the Gibbs reflective cycle is
used to reflect experience and knowledge gained while training the new nurses so that these
can be further used to improve the nursing practice (Husebø, O'Regan, and Nestel 2015).
These nurses are fresher and have a little theoretical knowledge about orthopaedics, it is
required to guide them and train them with the knowledge used in the ward to treat and cure

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patients. In order to do so, a teaching plan was prepared according to their learning abilities to
help them take up things easily.
Description:
Before joining the orthopaedic ward, they knew nothing about orthopaedic. It was all
new for them as they just graduated from their respective colleges and joined as a nurse. But
after I started working with them in the orthopaedics I came to know about the various
strategies and techniques required to teach them about how to treat a patient with orthopaedic
disorders or injuries. As they were a fresher and had very less experience in nursing, so they
were not given patients to handle. They were just allowed to observe and learn but after a
week I started giving them patients to handle. They were learning about handling patients,
helping doctors in the surgical theatres, and taking proper measures to treat patients with
injuries by using Cry cuffs. Cryo cuffs are used for postsurgical patients or patients who are
suffering from injuries. The cryo cuffs systems uses hydrostatic pressure and cold to diminish
post-operative pain and injuries (Dickinson et al., 2017) These cuffs were used to treat
patients who were not in condition of taking any medication. They were trained about the use
of these cuffs and were guided to use cryo cuffs whenever we get a patient with such bone
injuries. As a trainer it is my responsibility to bring up new and easy methods to teach and
make them understand the whole process or nursing and treatment in the field of
orthopaedics.
Feelings:
In the beginning of the facilitation workplace learning process, it was little tough to
handle and train nurses who just graduated from their colleges and have knowledge near to
nothing. To train new nurses you need to judge their ability of taking up knowledge
(Ebrahimi et al., 2016) But the set of nurses I was provided with were very active and good
learners. At first they were found little nervous while dealing with the patients, but after few

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sessions they gained confidence in their work. It was observed that they were taking up things
more easily when allowed to do clinical practices. It really supported and motivated me in
introducing new and innovative strategies. After working a little more with them, I started
understanding the requirements, they needed to be trained in the orthopaedic field using
practical sessions. And I was also at the same time gaining a lot of knowledge about myself, I
started noticing my weak points and while training them I was improving my skills as well.
Evaluation:
The evaluation process in the training procedure gave me both positive and negative
experiences. The new nurses were very energetic and were taking up new knowledge and
learning the use of new technologies easily. While training them in the first week I learned
the practical experience and resourceful strategies were helping them in growing better in the
field, where as taking regular classes was not working. It was observed when feedbacks
where received by the nurses on the session, they mentioned that they were improving when
they were trained with presentations and taken for practical sessions. In the field of
orthopaedic only theoretical knowledge is not enough, a nurse should know how to use the
technologies and exercises to treat a patient with bone disorders and injuries (Mohammmed
Iddrisu et al., 2018). The training session was not helping the nurses in the field but was also
helping me in evolving new strategies in order to help the nurses in learning. They started
understanding the needs of their patients and were growing their capability to converse with
the patients and their relatives. They were judging in a better way and were showing positive
outcomes.
Analysis:
During the training, it was taught to the learner how to deal with the patients. The
nurses should have calm and polite attitude towards the person they are treating as the
patients already are dealing with so many problems. I analysed that the new nurses needed to

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be trained on how to interact and handle a patient, as they didn’t have much experience in the
field. And the training was possible by using creative presentations instead to books and they
were made to interact and treat the patients which helped them in understanding the needs
and requirements in a better way. The orthopaedic department is about exercises and physical
treatments with little bit of counselling involved in it (Seo et al., 2017). In orthopaedic, the
use of cryo cuffs are essential. It helps in curing pain and bone injuries using cold compress.
So the nurses were trained to use the cuffs and instructed on how and when to use it.
Conclusion:
From the experience I had while training the new nurses, I have gained a lot of
knowledge and learnt skills that I was lacking before. I have now become more professional,
and in future whenever a situation like this arise, I will be able to handle it in a better way. I
have also improved my skills while teaching and have learned that clinical practice helps the
nurses in learning the process in a better manner. Through the training session, I have
received a positive outcome from the nurses. The practical sessions, interactions with the
patients and the presentation classes helped them in learning. The training they received for
the use of cryo cuffs were also beneficial for them, as an orthopaedic nurse the knowledge
about the cuffs and their usage is important. The plan included case studies revisions and it
also showed a positive result, as they were able to judge an d find solutions and cures for the
cases and it was found to be an interesting session.
Action plan:
This training process helped me in developing as a facilitator, it guides me on how a
new learner should be trained and how to spread knowledge to the fresher in ways that will
help them. It also helped me in understanding my role as a nurse and the importance of the
techniques in the treatment. In future whenever there will be a training similar to this I will
be able to plan and strategies in a better way that will help the nurses in their professions.

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And to improve the learner skills, I will make them practice and revise the sessions. So that
they become better in the profession. A reflective practice can help me in improving me, as it
will help me in judging and understanding my mistakes and faults. By understanding them I
can improve and prepare a better plan for the next time. In order to train my learners, I can
allow them to handle individual cases, so that they gain confidence and learn to interact in a
better way, and it will at the same time help me to know what all weaknesses they have and
are needed to be improved.
Section 2. Discussion:
The discussion is about the methods and their relationship with the practice as a
facilitator in the workplace. The below discussion will highlight the role of a facilitator in a
workplace learning process and the learners and the relation between them. It will also focus
on the strategies that can be used to make the facilitated work place learning process effective
and beneficiary for the nursing students as well as the patients.
Role-play:
A role-play situation is proposed to reflect collaboration between the nurses and the
patients, so that the nurses can implement a better therapeutic effect. It is significant that
nurses must have the capability to impose effective influence during their interaction sessions
with the patients. It is also observed that role-play strategy between the facilitator and the
learner is also important (Yang et al., 2018). The interaction between them with
understanding, respect, self-disclosure and reflective thought can be beneficial. It will help
the facilitator to know more about the learners, so that a better learning plan can be proposed.
During a role play session, the nurses will learn to understand and respect their patients, it can
also reduce the chances of interpersonal conflicts between them. Role play is a strategy which
is used for the learners so that they can take part in a scenario to practice target and on the

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basis of which they receive feedbacks. This will be used to enhance their skills (Ulrich et al.,
2017).
Case studies:
A case study procedure is used on the basis of problem based learning and it promotes
the enhancement of the analytical skills of a nurse. For a better learning process, inclusion of
case study method is important (Cronin 2016). As a facilitator, explaining and providing the
learners with case studies will be a better plan, it will enhance the judgement skills of the new
nurses. The case studies are divided into two categories, one in which the learner diagnoses
the problem and leads to a conclusion and the other is based on the problem solving. It is
another way of exchanging view and ideas with each other.
Simulation:
The simulation method of facilitated learning aims to teach the new nurses using
innovative strategies. In this method the new nurses learn to reconcile their theoretical
knowledge with practice. This method is linked with role-play and case study methodology,
as after learning how to apply theory in practice, the further go for the other two methods
(Kim, Park and Shin 2016). In the orthopaedic nursing, the nurses are taught about the use of
the technologies like cryo cuffs and later they apply the theoretical knowledge and practice
the use of the cuffs. It is also seen that, simulation is an effective strategy that helps the
nurses and the teaching staffs in developing ethical values and behaviours and then applying
them in clinical practices. It also increases their cultural and self-awareness (Bradshaw and
Hultquist 2016).
All the three methods have their importance in facilitating workplace learning, as
they individually provide guidelines to improve professionally and provide proper knowledge

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about the nursing procedure. A role play and simulation are inter related as after simulation
one proceeds toward the role paly methodology. The helps the learner to understand each
other’s perceptions and understand what a patient needs and requires. But case study is some
that will help you gain knowledge not only about the patient but also about the reason behind
and about the cure and measures required. It helps the learner to study and come up with
strategies and process to improve a patients behaviour. It also helps in assessing a patient.
The case studies provide you a better chance to understand and imply measures, as there are
many chances of getting a similar case, so by studying the previous a nurse can treat the
present case and avoid the faults that occurred in the past cases.
Conclusion:
This study has explored about the clinical learning environments and the importance
of facilitated workplace learning of nursing students from the workplace participating
practices viewpoint. Workplaces has succeeded in tempting the nursing students into both the
group of nurses and the exercise of the patient care. A facilitated workplace learning in
orthopaedic helps the nurses as well as the facilitator in developing in the field. While
training a set of new nurses who have no past experiences, a trainer evolves a lot of new
strategies and knowledge about the practice. This brings the assignment into a conclusion
that, a learning process can help develop skill in new nurses and grow them in their
profession. It not only helps the nurses but it also helps the patients. It teaches the learner to
interact, understand and estimate the situation and apply measures accordingly. An
orthopaedic nurse should be trained accordingly to improve themselves as they have to be in
the operation theatre or look after the patients after surgery (Phillips, Bassell and Fillmore
2019). They need to know what treatment should be given to individuals with different
issues. the should understand the basic first aids that should be provided as well as the
judgement capabilities of themselves. They should be able to judge and understand the

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condition and the issue of a patient and provided proper treatment and use interventions
accordingly. They should also understand the basic ethics about the nursing provided in order
to provide a better, error free and discrimination free care to the patients.
Apart from the new learners, it helps the facilitator to know its weaknesses and
strengths while training the nurses. While training, they enhance their judgmental skills as
their sessions start with judging the abilities of a learner. They judge the learner’s ability to
understand and take up new things. It also helps them to generate new strategies which will
further help them in taking sessions and operating the patients.

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