Targeting the bioscience-practice nexus to facilitate learning in first year nursing students

A sound understanding of bioscience, and an ability to use knowledge in solving complex problems are required for proficient nursing practice. This paper describes the continuing development of a bioscience course designed specifically to engender these attributes in first year nursing students. Face to face teaching hours were divided equally between lectures (to introduce the topic to inexperienced learners) and problem based interactive tutorials (to teach the skill of applying knowledge of basic scientific concepts to clinical case scenarios). The difficulty of finding sufficient teaching staff with a strong scientific and clinical background was addressed by using a large group interactive format for tutorials, without any negative impact on the perceived level of support provided to students.