Equity, diversity, and inclusion in open educational resources: An interpretive description of students' perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Although often assumed as objective, texts in nursing education are value-laden artifacts. Not unlike many educational materials, nursing texts are socially situated and often reflect dominant discourses of white supremacy, patriarchy, colonialism, cis/heteronormativity, gender binaries, and ableism. In addition to conveying what institutions and educators value, the discourses that are mediated through text socialize students in their ways of thinking and acting. There is a collective responsibility to critically examine how and why particular discourses persistently permeate texts used in nursing education. Open educational resources, as one type of text in nursing, are often touted as symbols of social justice because they are accessible for use by diverse learners and can be adapted to suit educators' needs. OBJECTIVES: With a focus on better understanding how equity, diversity, and inclusion can inform the design and production of open education resources, our guiding research question was: How do students perceive and envision equity, diversity, and inclusion in nursing-related open educational resources? DESIGN: Guided by a social justice framework, we used interpretive description methodology informed by participatory action research values to answer this question. SETTING, PARTICIPANT AND METHODS: Sixteen students participated from a post-secondary year-one nursing course in two focus groups and thirty-three students completed an open-ended survey. RESULTS: Data analysis yielded four themes: representation, learning, identities, and self. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators have the opportunity to design open educational resources in ways that empower students and elevate social justice. Thus, a more nuanced and critical approach towards social justice is needed to better integrate diversity in nursing-related resources.

Virtual simulation debriefing in health professions education: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and map the existing literature on virtual simulation debriefing methods utilized in health professions education. INTRODUCTION: Virtual simulation has emerged as a feasible alternative to in-person learning, allowing learners to continue their education despite constraints of space, finances, and clinical placement opportunities. Virtual simulation has proven to be a vital resource for health care students during the COVID-19 pandemic. While virtual simulation provides students with continued opportunities to develop knowledge and critical thinking in a safe environment, debriefing is a crucial step for successful knowledge uptake and deeper learning. Several studies have examined this topic in various health care settings; however, there are currently no scoping reviews that have explored virtual simulation debriefing in health professions education. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider primary and secondary source articles that explore debriefing of virtual simulation within any undergraduate or graduate health education programs. Any setting that provides virtual simulation and debriefing, in any country, will be included. METHODS: The review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology for scoping reviews and will search the following databases: Cochrane Library, JBI Evidence-based Practice Database, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Epistemonikos, Embase, ERIC, PsycINFO, Nursing and Allied Health Database, and Web of Science. Studies published from 2016 onward will be considered. The data extracted will include specific details about the concept, context, studymethod, and critical findings relevant to the review objective. Data will be presented in diagrammatic or tabular format in a manner that aligns with the objective of this scoping review. SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/36s5x.

Reducing Stress and Increasing Mindfulness in Nursing Students: An Online Mindfulness Intervention Study.

ABSTRACT: This pilot study evaluated the outcomes of stress and mindfulness among a convenience sample ( n = 60) of nursing students. Students participated in an online mindfulness-based intervention and completed the Perceived Stress Scale and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Although mean stress scores lowered, there was no statistically significant reduction in stress. There were significant increases in mindfulness scores (posttest, p = .000) that were sustained at four-week follow-up ( p = .012). Larger increases in mindfulness were associated with larger decreases in stress.

Monitoring recommendations for oral azathioprine, methotrexate and cyclosporin in a paediatric dermatology clinic and literature review.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Systemic oral immunomodulators azathioprine, methotrexate and cyclosporin are widely used in paediatric dermatology. Routine blood tests are performed to minimise drug-related adverse events. However, the frequency of monitoring tests may lead to significant fearful experiences for patients. We reviewed haematological abnormalities and clinical side-effects in a paediatric clinic population commencing immunomodulators for dermatological conditions, where haematological profiles are monitored less frequently than in current recommendations. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of children started on azathioprine, methotrexate or cyclosporin for a dermatological condition between 2001-2015 from a primarily paediatric, private dermatology practice was performed. Blood tests were done at baseline, 1 month, 2 months and then 3-monthly for children on azathioprine. Children on methotrexate and cyclosporin had tests done at baseline, after 1 month and then 3-monthly. RESULTS: In total, 242 children were included in this study. Azathioprine, methotrexate and cyclosporin cohorts had 95, 97 and 50 patients treated for a mean duration of 656, 758 and 313 days, respectively. Isolated abnormal blood tests indicated the cessation of azathioprine in 3/95 (3%), methotrexate in 5/97 (5%) and cyclosporin in 2/50 (4%) of patients. Abnormal blood test results were not associated with any reported clinical side-effects in the azathioprine (P = 0.726), methotrexate (P = 0.06) or cyclosporin groups (P = 0.250). CONCLUSION: In our experience, less frequent monitoring did not result in any significant adverse events over a 15-year period. We suggest that haematological monitoring during immunosuppressants use can be safely reduced from current recommendations.