Biography and expertise
Biography
Donna is an experienced Intensive Care Nurse with a passion for nurse education and workforce development. Donna is a current PhD candidate and is the Work Integrated Learning Academic Coordinator (WILAC) for Nursing in Southern Cross University’s Faculty of Health. She is experienced in leading teaching teams in undergraduate and post-graduate nursing studies, curriculum development, and implementing mobile technologies designed to support Work Integrated Learning (WIL) models. Donna is interested in WIL innovations, nursing workforce development, novel nursing education strategies, and exploring ways digital mobile technology may support nursing education in the work-integrated learning setting.
Donna's work contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals
Project Lead for mPreceptor, an experiential learning app designed to enhance Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experiences for first year nursing curriculum. mPreceptor was developed as the intervention for my PhD studies in partnership with educational technology company Practera®. mPreceptor delivered a structured 4-week program that supported a 120-hour professional placement. The app provided bite-sized, engaging modules that refreshed and expanded students’ knowledge and skills. It includes orientation activities, practical tools like ISBAR for clinical communication, and aligned learning outcomes with students’ scope of practice, and connects clinical facilitators to students and their learning resources, making WIL more interactive, efficient, and impactful.
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Honours
Organisational affiliations
Past affiliations
Highlights - Output
Conference presentation
Date presented 27/06/2023
ANZAHPE 2023: Turning Tides, Navigating the Opportunities, 26/06/2023–29/06/2023, Gold Coast, Queensland
Introduction
A capstone of nursing education occurs in the Work-integrated Learning (WIL) setting, where nursing students consolidate theoretical constructs learnt on campus with real-world skill development in clinical environments. The body of research exploring the use of mobile technology in education is increasing; however, there is little evidence indicating how this mobile technology is received by undergraduate student nurses to support their learning in the WIL setting. Therefore, this research was undertaken to evaluate the key predictors for acceptance and adoption of a mobile technology-based learning program specifically designed to support WIL.
Methods
First-year nursing students enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing degree at a regional Australian University were invited to participate in pre and post-WIL online surveys. Data was collected using a modified version of the extended DeLone and McLean information system success model. The data were analysed using the Partial Least Squares method, a statistical analysis technique based upon Structural Equation Modelling.
Results
Student nurses had good acceptance and adoption of mobile technology as a support for WIL, albeit COVID was a confounding variable. Perceived Usefulness (p<0.05) was found to positively affect User Satisfaction, and User Satisfaction (p<0.05) positively affected Perceived Net Benefits in both pre and post-WIL stages. Self-Efficacy was not found to be a key factor for User Satisfaction in the pre or post results.
Discussion
This research adds knowledge regarding acceptance and adoption of mobile technology to support undergraduate nursing student programs in the Work Integrated Learning setting. Understanding acceptance and adoption of mobile technology in education is essential to understanding value, efficacy and future investment decisions in nursing education.
Conference poster
International Nurse Education Conference, 27/09/2024–30/09/2024, Singapore Expo, Singapore