I would like to answer Anne Andrianos questions about our nursing
students at the University of North Dakota and to thank Kathleen Bruce
for her praise of our hard working, deserving students.
The students who are posting to Lactnet are undergraduate nursing
students enrolled in our Childbearing II class. These students had
Childbearing I (normal pregnancy) the previous semester where they
received breastfeeding information in lectures and clinical experiences.
The Childbearing II class is geared toward understanding complications
that can occur during pregnancy as well as expanding their knowledge of
related topics. Additional breastfeeding information is incorporated
into lectures and clinicals as appropriate. One of their assignments is
to participate on a relevant listserv. The objectives for the listserv
assignment include: a) participate in informed discussion via electronic
listserv regarding a course related topic with professionals and/or
clients; b) appreciate the variations on clinical practice patterns
across geographic areas; and c) enhance the acquisition of knowledge of
childbearing topics beyond that gained from theory and clinical
experiences. Students get to choose their listserv from a list,
resulting in a third of them signing on to Lactnet.
Through this assignment they are learning first hand about evidenced
based practice. They must become informed about their chosen topic by
reading the current literature and then use those references when they
compose their post. The post must be approved by the instructor and
sometimes requires several revisions to get it right. By doing so, each
student gets one on one attention and learns not only how to research a
topic, but also how to clearly present their work to professionals.
Most students have a positive experience with this assignment and you,
the members of the listserv, play a huge role in their perception. I do
want to thank all of you for your very thoughtful responses. I hope that
the student's posts have been helpful to you, as well. The students say
it best,
"I enjoyed all the responses; each person had something different to
say. I liked the way they explained and supported their responses to me.
That leads me to think that they care about students and their learning
experiences and want to give good feedback and help to us. It was
helpful to expand my experience and knowledg in nursing using this
project".
"My favorite part was getting responses to my post; it was like opening
Christmas packages!"
My name is Patty Vari, MS, RN, IBCLC. I am currently the Clinical
Assistant Professor for the Childbearing I and II classes. Cindy
Anderson, WHNP, MS, IBCLC, PhD candidate, who is on developmental leave
this year, has been the Clinical Associate Professor of these classes
for many years. She is the one person who is totally responsible for the
development of this assignment. It has been a privilege for me to work
with the Childbearing students for this school year and this assignment
has been the most rewarding student/teacher interaction/assignment with
which I have been involved. So again thank you for your support of our
program and our students. We are very proud of them!
One last thing is to remind Ann Andrianos that she knows Cindy and I.
Anne came to Grand Forks, ND in 1996 to conduct her "Current Knowledge
and Practice for the Breastfeeding Specialist" course, which Cindy and I
attended. Soon afterwards, we became IBCLC's, thanks to her excellent
preparation!
Patty M Vari, MS, RN, IBCLC
Clinical Assistant Professor
College of Nursing
University of North Dakota
Box 9025
Grand Forks, ND, 58202
701-777-4540
Fax 701-777-4096
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