Wir überwinden Grenzen

On the training wards at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, student nurses and physicians-to-be take on a lot of responsibility in a protected environment / Two training wards are currently running

On school wards, prospective nurses and physicians learn in a particularly practical way how to work together with different professional groups, care for patients independently and organize the processes on the ward. Two school ward projects are running at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg until February 28, in which trainee nurses and medical students in their practical year (PJ) are being intensively prepared for their future working day. The participants are closely supervised by qualified practical instructors, nursing staff, teachers from the Academy for Medical Professions and the medical teams on the wards.

"We are delighted to be able to offer our junior nursing staff practice-oriented training with good guidance and new learning situations," says Helmut Schiffer, Nursing Director of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "Excellent training is an important investment to inspire young people to work in the healthcare sector in the long term and to secure top-quality care here at the hospital in the long term."

Learning and working together

Communication between different professional groups is the focus of the "Surgical interprofessional school ward" (ChipS) project. For four weeks, eleven nursing care trainees and four PJ students work in teams to treat and care for patients on a ward at the Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. Together, they care for around 24 patients. After three introductory days at the beginning of February with specialist input, the practical phase began with joint ward rounds, fixed times for interprofessional discussions and reflection units.

"On the interprofessional school ward, our participants practise interacting with other professional groups and get to know their expertise and tasks even better. This helps to avoid misunderstandings later on and to be able to take on each other's perspectives," explains Agnes Onnasch, who coordinates the project. In designing the project, the team was able to build on the experience of the already established interprofessional training projects IPAPÄD (Interprofessional Training Station in Pediatrics) and FRIPANCH (Freiburg Interprofessional Training Station in Neurosurgery).

Creating new learning situations

In the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, eight trainee nurses are practising independent nursing care for patients and organizing everyday ward life on a ward at the Bad Krozingen campus. After three induction days, they were given two weeks of individual training. Since then, the trainees have taken responsibility for one half of the ward and will manage it independently until the end of February. Three times a week, they reflect on the progress of the project with teachers from the Academy for Medical Professions.

"Taking responsibility, gaining security and strengthening self-confidence: these are the most important goals of our school ward," says main practice instructor Jessica Müllerschön, who prepared the training project together with colleagues. "Our participants are also very well prepared for their practical exam afterwards."