MINE Evaluation

On a personal note I would like to start by saying that the MINE project was one of the most inspiring and enjoyable of my life. Not only was it an academic enriching experience, but it was also a social programme which helped us merge together. Therefore I do feel the necessity to express my grattitude towards both the organisers of the MINE project, but also towards the participants who likewise made this course a success, which not only met, but exceeded by far my expectations.

MINE appraisal

During the MINE programme various issues were researched and tackled. First of all, we identified different methods of teaching and learning at our different Universities. As a summary, while we found there are some differences in our methods, ultimately each of us could work as a nurse effictively in every country, since all of us finally target the patient's well-being. However, partner countries do exercise different methods of teaching, and no specific one can be said to be the right one. As a matter of fact, our discussed points might have revealed aspects which would strengthen the education system of each country. Of course a point of suggestion would be that of making our work available to other universities, to evaluate what can be improved in each education system, both for the benefit of the students, and patients.

One aspect of the MINE which has left an impact on me, was the social aspect of the programme. Although we were nurses from six different countries, we managed not only to produce an excellent piece of work, but we have merged together, socially and academically as one; regardless of our teaching systems. This aspect is particularly relevant in both today and the future, where hospitals in different countries are becoming multinational in staffing. The MINE programme gave us excellent insight and training, on how as near future nurses, irrispective of our education systems, cultures etc. we can function as one, towards the benefit of a single goal, in this case the patient. This could be a perfect insight on how hospital management could adopt similar systems, to bring together nurses working in a ward irrispective of their country of origin. With this project, as a cohesive force we managed to split the work, and merge the work together: this led us to not only learn from each other, but at the same time it was effective to reduce our burnout. As a result I think that MINE goes beyond helping students on an ERASMUS exchange.

MINE also focussed upon mentoring. Both students and mentors learned about mentoring strategies, both by interacting socially, and as well by the research done. In light of this, I feel that I acquired new knowledge regarding mentoring, that I will treasure and utilise with my nursing students. It is my opinion that the benefitx of this programme will not only be reflected towards the 45 or so participants, but one has to look at the broader picture. Most of these participants will have students to mentor, and will pass effectively this knowledge by the way they mentor. As a result, one participant can instil this knowledge to several students, and hopefully the students to others when they become nurses.

Another aim of the MINE project was to gather knowledge regarding the education systems of our different countries. Similarities and differences were examined, evaluated, discussed, and in the end were put on the wiki page which offers a myriad of useful knowledge to prospective ereasmus students. Furthermore a forum has been now created, which allows prospective students to actively discuss and post the queries. Other students from other countries, may then reply back with their answer. Furthermore other students have the liberty to post what they think is relevant themselves in the forum, inputting their own tips to other students. Additionally MINE informs its participants about ERASMUS, and thus allows the participants to interact, promote and aid students planning an ERASMUS in their country. Moreover us as students, we can work forward to bridge any gaps that exist between countries' education systems.

Methods of Learning

I must say that I was not very familiar with the learning approaches the MINE used. Internet use, and using it as a communication tool is somewhat still in the beginning from where I come. MINE utilised accessible modern tools of technology such as facebook, to make us familiarize with each other. The social network was indeed put to excellent use when it comes to 'social'. All of us had an idea of each other before we actually met. I think that facebook was sort of an icebreaker which got us to know each other. As MINE progressed, we continued to make furthur use of facebook both for academic and social use. It had become, and to some way still is a link between us all, independant from where we are, and is accessible everytime. It is my opinon that moving forward towards internet technology is the step which needs to be adopted by the education systems. As developed EU countries we should make use of such technology so that every country shares its own systems together. This is not only useful in education but also in nursing. Nursing is an ever evolving profession, requiring not only intensive studying, but also development during the profession itself. It is not something static, like say law, but it is dynamic, and as a result a fast, accessible tool such as internet can be utilised to share information between partner countries. Hopefully as we all become professionals this link will still be accessible, and policies, practices, and nursing perspectives can be discussed between us, even as we work in different countries.

Blogging, is in a way a method of reflection. A reflection can be done in several ways. Most of the times as human beings, we reflect upon an incident or an experience without even thinking about it. (Hopefully) it is in human nature to become better and improve. However with blogging there is an added benefit that self reflection can never achieve. With blogging, reflection of an experience is made available to others. I am quite sure that every individual, even more so every practice nurse will each time have something worth reflecting about. Sometimes this event may be of interest to other nurses. Sharing of an experience is ultimately a gift, which needs to be utilised to its maximum potential. A reflection is after all an evaluation which has recommendations for future improvement. As a result blogging can be a powerful tool in the nursing profession, and I am postive that if utilised correctly, it might well be the best continuous development of a nurse.

A digital story is in itself a video which is most often short, but that which carries a message, or knowledge to an audience. While all of the information can be presented as text, a digital video makes the learning experience 'entertaining' to the individual's brain. The use of pictures, and voice, generally reduces the number of words, which at length can make the message ineffective and boring to the reader. With a digital story we managed to pass bulk of relevant information in just a few minutes, however adding the presentation effect, making the reader interested in seeing the multimedia as well as recieving the message. In a world where everything is moving fast, presentation, and being concise are key points which are very relevant. A connection to the nursing field would be creating digital videos in order to deliver health promotion to the public.

MINE was all about sharing experiences, through information gathered by several participants. One innovative and student empoworing approach that struck out was the fact that everybody was considered as being a teacher, and everybody was considered to be a learner. In a world where infromation is all around us, makes it possible for different people to access the information, learn, and transmit to others, such as happened in MINE. Rather than the information being stored in 'one brain' the information was collected from every participant, and then from every group, together finally reaching our aim to gather information in particular. As a result nowadays a concept of knowing how to search, identify and extract correct and relevant information should in my opinion be part of a university student's syllabus.

MINE was delivered in a system of patches. These in my opinion helped to structure the information that was required from us. Breaking a task down into points or steps may help by giving individuals a more constructive approach towards the research, while at the same time avoiding to overwhelm them. This might have given us participants a clearer picture of what was required, but at the same time we were able to better plan our time, reducing unecessary stress which would have been if a complex one page question was asked, as it is conventionally the case in many systems.

In conclusion I would like to say that MINE was an innovative inspiring learning and social experience to myself. Not only did it give me insight on other countries, but it helped me develop on a personal level, and on a professional level which also leads to education of student nurses in future. Furthermore it provided a broader picture on how ultimately education systems in Europe are coming closer together. MINE approach also should be a stepping stone towards professionals and hospitals to share experiences, protocols, policies, and approaches accross Europe; and whilst becoming similar in our care, we provide improvement strategies to each other, growing not only as a country but also as a unioin of countries in what concerns healthcare.