Care of the Unconscious Patient — the Teaching Given to Student Nurses

Abstract

This report describes a study undertaken during the ‘Introduction to Social Research’ course at Sheffield University. The study attempted to investigate the teaching student nurses receive about caring for an unconscious patient. The starting point for the project was the hunch that the teaching given to student nurses about the care of an unconscious patient was not sufficiently adequate for the nurse to be and feel competent, and, as a result of this, could not ensure the safety of the patient. The teaching about the unconscious patient which does take place is not evaluated or reinforced in any systematic way.