Introduction: Experiential learning is the connection between theoretical and practical work. It provides a form of a more effective perception of knowledge. It is important for us to think about situations happened in events, to talk about and to reflect upon them. Of course, direct practise in necessary for experiential learning, but it is not enough. We must be present in every situation, both physically and mentally. Only then can we learn from our experiences. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma work is to determine the experiences and acquired skills of nursing students at the camp of children with hyperkinetic disorder, where they underwent new practical knowledge for work, under the guidance of mentors. Methods: A qualitative analysis was used. As a research instrument for data collection, a group semi-structured interview was conducted with five full-time students from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Ljubljana, in the fields of nursing care. An analysis of the reading material was also used, where it was processed in word mode, without the use of measurement procedures that give the numbers. Results: After reviewing the key concepts in the reading material, we first joined them into meaningful categories. We have created three organized topics (attitude towards participants and strengthening of personal characteristics, positive feelings of working with children and self-education) and six basic themes (confidence in yourself, ingenuity, satisfaction, affiliation, self-inquiry and listening). We have linked them to a thematic scheme, from which we can understand that confidence in yourself and the ingenuity that students should have has an impact on the attitude towards participants and the strengthening of their personality traits. Satisfaction and affection play an important role in the positive feelings of working with children. Just asking and listening lead to self-education. The common denominator of all of these is the experiential learning of students at the camp of children with hyperkinetic disorder. On the basis of the interview, we found that the interviewers, as the main reasons for experiential learning in the camp of children with hyperkinetic disorder, mention three main factors that we define with the most commonly mentioned patterns: positive feelings of working with children, attitudes towards participants and strengthening personality traits, and self-education. Discussion and conclusion: The camp represents a positive experience, the strengthening of personality traits and the establishment of a relationship with the camp participants. Students have learned their skills in working in a different environment compared to a hospital. The participation of students at the camp of children diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorder has proven to be an appropriate method for experience gaining. The experiential learning of nursing students at the camp of children diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorder provides students with at least basic knowledge needed to treat children with hyperkinetic disorder. This type of teaching needs to be explored more because it is a more successful way of teaching students.
|
