PREPARING FOR POST-REGISTRATION EDUCATION AND PRACTICE (PREP) - THE SUPPORT ROLE OF THE LIBRARY

A survey of 5% of trained nursing staff in the Plymouth area provided indications of the impact of changes in post-registration education an d practice on the library service of the Tor & South West College of H ealth in Plymouth. The survey comprised, first, a structured interview to obtain details of professional development plans and preferences, number of courses attended recently, learning styles, use made of ward /unit resources (particularly journals) and optimum periods for librar y opening. The second part of the survey was a vignette information pr oblem. The responses (written by the participants) provided an indicat ion of information-seeking skills and perceptions of various informati on sources, both formal (publications) and informal (colleagues and or ganizations). Analysis indicated that the most popular method of learn ing was attending a study day, and the most popular combination of lea rning styles was study day combined with further reading. Reading of j ournals was selective. Most staff would have to rely on a library for journal literature, particularly the new journals. One third of the sa mple appeared lacking in information-seeking skills. One third appeare d confident in information-seeking skills, and this group was associat ed with the use of more than two sources of information and use of a l ibrary. No single library in Plymouth would be adequate for the source s of information required, indicating the need for better networking a nd/or integration.