Learning During School
Using Available Resources
On completing this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
1. Identify your knowledge of your school’s learning resource center (LRC), including:
a. Available print and digital resources
c. Procedures to locate print and digital resources
d. How to use technology to access digital resources
2. Discuss the value of reading assignments in periodicals.
3. Use a periodical index; locate an article related to nursing.
4. Discuss six hints used to gain full value from minilectures and PowerPoint presentations.
5. Compare learner responsibilities for each of the following means of delivering practical/vocational nursing classes/courses.
6. Discuss your responsibilities for each of the following learning strategies:
d. Technology use during learning activities
7. Discuss the use of the following resources in your personal learning:
a. Syllabus, course outline, Course Management System (CMS)
h. Electronic device (laptop, smartphone, iPad [or other tablet], iPod Touch, etc.)
i. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
8. Describe how the following resources help you stay current in practical/vocational nursing:
9. Discuss professional use of social media/social networking.
Knowing where and how to access nursing information makes keeping up-to-date for patient care and passing the NCLEX-PN® less stressful. It will protect your nursing license, too.
The focus of this chapter is to provide information about additional resources for information used in practical/vocational nursing. Because you are never done learning, suggestions are given to help you stay up-to-date in nursing for clinical, for the NCLEX-PN®, and as a graduate. Even if you have past experience in an educational program of study, you will find information in this chapter that will help you adjust to and succeed in the practical/vocational nursing program with less stress and frustration.
Your School’s Learning Resource Center
If you are a returning adult student, you know the learning resource center (LRC) as the library. Today, some students walk to the library to access what they need, and others just point their mouse and click. LRC reflects the increased scope of the library in the twenty-first century. The center consists of a lot more than books. How do you feel when you find out you must use the learning resource center? If you have some negative feelings, perhaps it is because you are unfamiliar with the sources of information contained in this resource and how to access and use them.
Different student skill levels and different resources of the learning resource center
All LRCs have similar print and digital resources or access to these resources. However, not all LRCs are equal in technology. The LRC is a large item in any school budget. States face huge budget deficits. These deficits may affect which technology and resources your LRC contains. Some of you are skilled at using the LRC and its resources (Box 5-1). We recognize your ability. If you are skilled in this area, be aware that some of your peers may not be as skilled in using the LRC and its general resources and technology. They will find the hints in this chapter helpful. Because of the differences in your LRC, compared to the LRC of other programs and student differences in skill level, this chapter focuses on what tasks you need to be able to do as a practical/vocational nursing (SPN/SVN) student in your LRC to obtain nursing information for class and clinical (Box 5-2).
• Box 5-1 includes a checklist of tasks you need to carry out to fully use the general print and digital resources and technology of your LRC for your student year and as a graduate.
• Box 5-2 includes a checklist of tasks you need to carry out to fully use the nursing resources and technology of your LRC for your student year and as a graduate.
Checklist—General and Nursing Resources and Technology
On index cards or notepads, list the general and nursing LRC tasks from Boxes 5-1 and 5-2 with which you are not familiar.
Where to start
Investigate your learning resource center. You need to know the physical layout of the LRC and general hours of operation. Is a tour available in person or online? Touring the LRC can save you many wasted hours and much frustration later in the school year. Is an informational brochure available? You will find that your LRC contains a wealth of services that will help make your time in the practical/vocational nursing program easier and less stressful. Ask the librarian the best way for you to find the answers to items on your checklists with which you are unfamiliar. LRC staff are available to answer questions. Because the LRC is a learning area, you need to help to keep it a quiet environment. A simple “please” and “thank you” for staff efforts will be appreciated.
Filling in the Gaps in My Learning Resource Center Knowledge
On the index cards or notepads you used for the previous learning exercise (Boxes 5-1 and 5-2), list the solutions to the tasks you could not carry out but found by investigating the LRC. To save time when using the LRC, refer to these notes as needed.
General Information About Resources of the Library
Librarian
This is perhaps the best resource in the whole school. The librarian is a college-educated specialist who knows what the library has to offer in the area of information and where that information can be found. Look at the librarian as a professional educator about information for learning and as a person who is always ready to assist you. Is the librarian available by email or real-time online to answer questions? When you ask for assistance in person, be sure to watch the process the librarian uses to obtain the information you need. The next time, you will be able to help yourself!
Circulation Desk
The circulation desk is the area where library materials that can be checked out are processed. If materials that can be checked out are reserved by your instructor, they will probably be found here. They can be checked out for short periods, along with audiovisual equipment to use with the material, if needed. Materials are returned to this desk.
Online Catalog
You can obtain a lot of information about your LRC by yourself once you understand the cataloging system. Most LRC’s card catalogs are online (computerized) catalogs. All print and digital materials found in your LRC are indexed in this computerized system. In addition to books, cataloged materials also include audiovisual materials (audiorecordings, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.). You can search for desired materials by subject, title, or author. The LRC may also have access to free or purchased access to digital databases. If the LRC does not have the material you are searching for, but another LRC on the online system does, this information might also be included.
In some systems students are able to access the online catalog and digital resources from home via computer, user name, and password. This system of cataloging saves students valuable time and energy.
Locating in-house resources
Libraries may choose to use either of two systems to classify in-house materials so they are easy to locate: the Dewey Decimal system and the Library of Congress classification system. Regardless of the system your library uses, the call number shown on the author, title, or subject screens is the same number as that on the material itself. Copy, in order, all the letters and numbers in the call number.
The Stacks
Armed with the call number, you can proceed to the stacks—the place where the majority of materials that can be checked out are located. The books are placed in call number order according to academic disciplines. When you do find the material you are looking for, note that materials covering the same subject are shelved in the same area. You might find additional useful material on the same shelf.
Reference Materials
Reference materials include dictionaries and other similar categories of books, including medical and nursing dictionaries, almanacs, yearbooks, atlases, encyclopedias, and handbooks. Some of these resources can be found online. You will find up-to-date information on any subject in this area. Print reference books generally do not circulate. Information from print reference materials may be copied on a copy machine if the book cannot be checked out. Online information can be printed.
Interlibrary Loan Services
Interlibrary loan services allow your LRC to borrow materials you need that are not in your library’s holdings. Print books and audiovisual materials are available through this service. A link for a digital full-text version of an article may be provided. If your LRC does not have the periodical in which an article you need is located or an electronic subscription to the source, a photocopy of the article or a link, free of charge, might be obtained from a library that does have some form of the periodical.
Professional Journals
Practical/vocational nurses need to be aware of sources that will provide up-to-date, relevant, and accurate information on nursing topics. Professional journal articles give you the opportunity to stay on top of the latest research in nursing and its application. In addition to articles that are assigned reading, practical/vocational nurses need to be self-directed in finding and using articles that pertain to selected nursing topics and nursing problems occurring in the clinical area. Professional journals of interest to practical/vocational nurses include, but are not limited to, The Journal of Practical Nursing; Nursing Made Incredibly Easy; Nursing2012 (the year in the title changes as the year changes); and The American Journal of Nursing.
Articles
All learners are looking for the perfect textbook, the one that is complete and self-contained. It does not exist! Specific journal articles may be assigned to give you up-to-date information to supplement the readings in your textbooks. Use the same hints for reading textbooks when reading these articles.
Copyright laws prohibit the instructor from copying an article for each of you. For this reason the required reading articles may be available on a reserve basis in the LRC by photocopy or digitally by a link within a Course Management System (CMS). Because copyright laws allow you to have one copy of an article, photocopy or print the reserve article for your own use. Underline, highlight, write in the margins, or type a note on your copy. Remember, the instructor knows you are busy. Articles are not busywork but a necessary part of any career education to keep current in your discipline.
Magazines and Newspapers
Include newspapers and popular magazines as sources of information on health-related topics. Magazine articles never replace professional journal reading, but they do provide information that your patients read. As one practical nursing student said, “I had better be up-to-date and understand what my patients are reading.” Be aware of the author’s expertise. This will help you evaluate the accuracy of the information on the topic and suitability for health care.
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