PREVIEW NOTES

Descriptive study of hospitalized child care: a merleau-ponty phenomenological approach

Sueli Maria Refrande¹, Rose Mary Costa Rosa Andrade Silva¹, Eliane Ramos Pereira<sup>1

1</sup>Fluminense Federal University

ABSTRACT
This is a dissertation project, presented for the Professional Masters in Health Education: Interdisciplinary Teacher Training within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS, in Portuguese). The general objective is to understand the experience of nursing students in clinical practice with regard to infant health. The specific objective is to create an educational video that shows the experiences of senior nursing students, using quotes from them and also based on the National Humanization Policy documents. Method: this is a descriptive study which takes the form of non-experimental fieldwork. It uses a qualitative approach with a phenomenological emphasis, based on Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s theory.  It was performed in a hospital in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The subjects are nursing students from a private institution. The ethical aspects according to Resolution 196/96 will be adhered to.
Keywords: Preceptorship, Students; Nursing, Child; Hospitalized.

PROBLEM SITUATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
 
The crisis facing the Brazilian Unified System of Health (SUS, in Portuguese), the lack of human resources, lack of materials and the constant fear associated with dealing with hospitalized children, and especially with the emotions involved, such as anxiety, jitters and a fear of change, can all be considered to be current concerns which have to be closely considered by preceptors in the context of learning and teaching. Preceptorship is a means of preparing for clinical practice on the part of clinical staff. The members of the health unit under consideration in this research provide supervision and clinical teaching for the trainee nurses. A preceptor is defined as “…an experienced professional that teaches, instructs, guides and works as a role model for a nursing student, either undergraduate or graduate, over a certain period of time, as part of a formal agreement or program” ⁽¹⁾.
It is important to note that child healthcare is among the essential activities of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, with programs that aim to provide a better quality and a more humanized service to the public when it comes to infant care. There is a growing need on the part of the nurses and other health professionals who deal with children – in research, in teaching or in the healthcare field – to use technical-scientific knowledge to improve their practices⁽²⁾. Therefore, even with so many changes, senior nursing students must be able to develop their perceptions in order to understand the child from a phenomenological perspective. This means that they must consider the child in its own right, and not based on theories. This was as Merleau-Ponty pointed out it should be⁽³⁾, who also placed and described the situation of the children in the world.

GUIDING QUESTION

In what way is the experience of senior nursing students based on theoretical-practical learning experiences with regard to childrens’ health?

OBJECTIVES

We aim to understand the experience of nursing students in clinical practice with regard to childrens’ health. Then, based on the comments of these students and the Brazilian National Humanization Policy, we will then create an educational video showing the experiences of senior students that preceded the beginners in the clinical field.

METHOD

This is a descriptive study consisting of non-experimental fieldwork. We use a qualitative approach with a phenomenological emphasis, based on the theories of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, in a hospital in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The analyzed subjects are nursing students from a private educational institution. The total number of participants will not be decided prior to the research, as the data collection will continue until the phenomena are revealed. These phenomena will be analyzed and, subsequently, the emotional factors will be elaborated through diversified group dynamics, such as focal groups and exchanging experiences groups. The study proposal will be presented to the senior students and the Free and Clear Consent Agreement will be explained to them, in order to resolve any doubts, in accordance to ethical and legal specifications of Resolution 196/96. The researcher is still awaiting ethical approval.

REFERENCES

1. Mills JE; Francis KL; Bonner A. Mentoring, clinical supervision and preceptoring:          clarifying the conceptual definitions for Australian rural nurses. A review of the literature. Rural remote health.   2005   [ cited 2012 apr 22 ]   5(3).  Available  from: http://www.rrh.org.au/articles/subviewnew.asp?ArticleID=410

2. Cardoso MVLML;  França DF; Souza WR; Lúcio IML. Analysis of the publications about child health in journals of nursing from 2000 to 2005. Online braz j nurs [ serial in the Internet ].  2008 [ Cited 2012 June 29 ] 7(1). Available from: http://www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/article/view/1168

3. Machado MM. Merleau-Ponty & a Educação. Belo Horizonte: Autêntica; 2010.

Project Information:

Dissertation project of the Professional Masters in Health Education Program: Interdisciplinary Teaching Formation within the Brazilian Unified Health System at UFF. Ethics in research approval pending. Financially supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
Sueli Maria Refrande
Master student of the Professional Master in Health Education: Interdisciplinary Teaching Formation within the Brazilian Unified Health System
Contact Information: susurefrande@gmail.com
Tutor: Rose Mary Costa Rosa Andrade Silva.
PhD in Nursing, Tutor, Professor of the Professional Masters in Health Education: Interdisciplinary Teaching Formation within the Brazilian Unified Health System, UFF.
Co-Author: Eliane Ramos Pereira
PhD in Nursing, Co-Author, Professor at UFF.

Received: 06/07/2012
Approved: 26/09/2012