“I’ve liked this book from the first edition [Davis Advantage for Maternal-Newborn Nursing]. It’s a great book from a clinical perspective. I can assure you that I will be using the 5th Edition when it comes out.” Jennifer Bradle, MSN, BSN Clinical Nursing Coordinator and Lecturer Georgian Court University
Jennifer Bradle has been teaching maternal-child nursing in the BSN and ABSN programs at Georgian Court University since 2007. The course is 14 weeks for the BSN students and 10 weeks for the ABSN students. The F.A. Davis solution at work: Jennifer is a long-time fan of the Durham book and has been using it since the 1st edition for both her BSN and ABSN students. “I love the book because it’s set up how I teach the course, from conception to delivery and then complications of pregnancy.” She also praises the currency and clinical relevancy of the material. “It uses the references and resources from organizations such as ACOG, AWHON, and American Academy of Pediatrics that were my go-tos when I was working as an advanced practice nurse.” Davis Advantage online activities are important components of her course, especially in the 10-week ABSN program. “It’s really hard to fit everything into such a short period of time. I rely heavily on Davis Advantage for those students and assign activities and quizzes, which are 15% of their grade. ” Students in both programs receive a syllabus at the start of the semester with topics, readings, and assignments. “I introduce the syllabus by doing a scavenger hunt to make sure they have read it.” Prior to class, Jennifer assigns readings from the book as well as exercises from Davis Advantage . “The students have to come prepared because I may start the class with a pop quiz or a graded activity based on their pre-class assignments.” Jennifer focuses a lot on vocabulary because students tend to struggle with that. “I send them to the back of the book and assign the glossary in sections. Then I will give them a vocabulary test which may be a crossword puzzle or a word search. Students have told me these are really helpful and fun.” Jennifer also uses the Davis Advantage NCLEX-style questions to create quizzes that test clinical judgment skills. “These questions are phenomenal. The students complain that they didn’t get to prepare, but I tell them they can’t prepare for everything before they walk into a patient room. They are going to be on the spot and have to think like a nurse.” In the classroom, Jennifer focuses on active learning rather than lecture and often uses the case studies in Davis Advantage. “I will have my students complete it before class and then we will do activities based on it in class. It gets the students moving around class and working together, and it fosters teamwork. Most of the students love this approach and say they can’t believe how fast the class goes.” Jennifer likes the layout of the book, especially the boxes and tables because they are succinct and provide students with valuable information. “I recommend that they review those first and then go back and look at the readings for clarification on anything they don’t understand.” Jennifer also appreciates the instructor materials that accompany the book and regularly uses the PowerPoint slides and the pictures and tables from the ebook to update her lecture materials. While she doesn’t read from these slides during class, she provides them to the students for reference and study. In addition, Jennifer likes the test bank questions and uses them to create her exams. “After my students take the boards, they will come back and say that they saw questions that were similar to questions they had on quizzes and exams they took in class.” The results: Positive feedback and improved exam and NCLEX scores Her students give Jennifer great feedback on the book, saying it’s easy to read. They also like Davis Advantage because they can build their own quizzes and test their knowledge. “Many students tell me on the course evaluations that doing the Davis Advantage quizzes has helped them on their mid-term, final, and ATI exams. If a student doesn’t pass their ATI exam, I recommend that they use Davis Advantage for remediation before retaking it. Eighty-five percent of the students who do that will go up a level on their ATI retake.”
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