Efficacy of Virtual Reality Simulation in Teaching Basic Life Support and Its Retention at 6 Months.

Educational efficiency is the predetermining factor for increasing the survival rate of patients with cardiac arrest. Virtual reality (VR) simulation could help to improve the skills of those undergoing basic life support-automated external defibrillation (BLS-AED) training. Our purpose was to evaluate whether BLS-AED with virtual reality improves the skills and satisfaction of students enrolled in in-person training after completing the course and their retention of those skills 6 months later. This was an experimental study of first-year university students from a school of health sciences. We compared traditional training (control group-CG) with virtual reality simulation (experimental group-EG). The students were evaluated using a simulated case with three validated instruments after the completion of training and at 6 months. A total of 241 students participated in the study. After the training period, there were no statistically significant differences in knowledge evaluation or in practical skills when assessed using a feedback mannequin. Statistically significant results on defibrillation were poorer in the EG evaluated by the instructor. Retention at 6 months decreased significantly in both groups. The results of the teaching methodology using VR were similar to those obtained through traditional methodology: there was an increase in skills after training, and their retention decreased over time. Defibrillation results were better after traditional learning.

Assessing Nursing Students' Self-Perceptions about Safe Medication Management: Design and Validation of a Tool, the NURSPeM.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to design and validate a tool for assessing nursing students' self-perceptions about safe medication management. METHODS: A descriptive instrumental study was conducted involving construct definition, development of the tool, analysis of the content validity, and psychometric evaluation. Consensus regarding the content was obtained through a two-round Delphi process, and the resulting tool (the NURSPeM) was administered to nursing students to examine its internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity, the latter through exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: Thirteen experts participated in the Delphi process, which yielded a tool comprising two questionnaires: (1) Self-perceptions about safe medication management (27 items) and (2) the frequency and learning of drug-dose calculation (13 items). The tool's psychometric properties were then examined based on responses from 559 nursing students. This analysis led to the elimination of three items from questionnaire 1, leaving a total of 24 items distributed across seven dimensions. All 13 items in questionnaire 2 were retained. Both questionnaires showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.894 and 0.893, respectively) and temporal stability (ICC = 0.894 and 0.846, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The NURSPeM is a valid and reliable tool for assessing nursing students' self-perceptions about safe medication management. It may be used to identify areas in which their training needs to be enhanced, and to evaluate the subsequent impact of new teaching initiatives.

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire of the Perioperative Nursing Competencies in Patient Safety.

(1) Background: This research presents the CUCEQS© (Spanish acronym for Questionnaire of Perioperative Nursing Safety Competencies), which evaluates the perception of perioperative nurses about their competencies related to surgical patient safety. The aim of the present study was to design, validate, and analyze the psychometric properties of the CUCEQS©. (2) Methods: We devised an instrumental, quantitative, and descriptive study divided into two phases: in the first, the questionnaire was designed through a Delphi method developed by perioperative nurses and experts in patient safety. In the second, the reliability, validity, and internal structure of the tool were evaluated. (3) Results: In the first phase, the items kept were those that obtained a mean equal to or higher than four out of five in the expert consensus, and a Content Validity Index higher than 0.78. In the second phase, at the global level, a Stratified Cronbach's Alpha of 0.992 was obtained, and for each competency, Cronbach's Alpha values between 0.81 and 0.97 were found. A first-order confirmatory factor analysis of the 17 subscales (RMSEA 0.028, (IC 90% = 0.026-0.029) and its observed measures was performed for the 164 items, as well as a second-order analysis of the four competencies (RMSEA = 0.034, (IC90% = 0.033-0.035). (4) Conclusions: The questionnaire is a valid tool for measuring the perceived level of competency by the perioperative nurses in surgical patient safety. This is the first questionnaire developed for this purpose, and the results obtained will facilitate the identification of areas to be improved by health professionals in patient safety.

Self-Learning Methodology in Simulated Environments (MAES©) as a Learning Tool in Perioperative Nursing. An Evidence-Based Practice Model for Acquiring Clinical Safety Competencies.

BACKGROUND: The self-learning Methodology in Simulated Environments (Spanish acronym: MAES©, (Murcia, Spain) is a type of self-directed and collaborative training in health sciences. The objective of the present study was to compare the level of competence of postgraduate surgical nursing students in the clinical safety of surgical patients, after training with the MAES© methodology versus traditional theoretical-practical workshops, at different points in time (post-intervention, after three months, six months post-intervention, and at the end of the clinical training period, specifically nine months post-intervention). METHODS: We conducted a prospective study with an experimental group of surgical nursing postgraduate students who participated in MAES© high-fidelity simulation sessions, and a control group of postgraduate nursing students who attended traditional theoretical-practical sessions at two universities in Catalonia (Spain). The levels of competence were compared between the two groups and at different time points of the study. RESULTS: The score was higher and statistically significantly different in the experimental group for all the competencies, with a large effect size at every measurement point previously mentioned. CONCLUSIONS: The postgraduate nurses were the most competent in the clinical safety of surgical patients when they trained with the MAES© methodology than when they learned through traditional theoretical-practical workshops. The learning of surgical safety competencies was more stable and superior in the experimental group who trained with MAES©, as compared to the control group.

Dimensions of leadership in undergraduate nursing students. Validation of a tool.

BACKGROUND: Nurses require leadership skills in order to fulfil their clinical role in an ever-changing healthcare environment. The acquisition of such skills should therefore begin during their professional training. OBJECTIVES: To identify the dimensions of leadership present among nursing undergraduates in the original Self-Assessment Leadership Instrument (SALI). DESIGN: This was a validation study involving the translation and cultural adaptation of the Self-Assessment Leadership Instrument (SALI) for use with nursing undergraduates in the Spanish context. SETTING: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Spain. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Participants were 280 nursing undergraduates (years 1-4) from a Spanish university. The SALI was adapted following the back-translation procedure, and its psychometric properties (validity and reliability) were analyzed. RESULTS: The Spanish version of the SALI maintains the 40 items of the original scale. Scores on the Spanish SALI were positively and significantly correlated (0.542, p = .000) with scores on the General Self-Efficacy Scale (convergent scale) and negatively and significantly correlated (-0.348, p = .000) with the total score on the Lille Apathy Rating Scale (divergent scale). Factor analysis indicated that scores on the Spanish SALI loaded on four dimensions: Strategic thinking, Emotional intelligence, Impact and influence, and Teamwork skills, which together accounted for 43.42% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.870 (range 0.688-0.781 for the four dimensions). Test-retest reliability over a 15-day interval was high (ICC = 0.929, p = .000). CONCLUSIONS: The study has identified four key dimensions of leadership that nursing students need to acquire and provides a valid and reliable tool for assessing them. This will enable nurse educators to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching initiatives aimed at developing these competences.

[Efficacy of interventions aimed at the main carers of dependent individuals aged more than 65 years old. A systematic review]. / Eficacia de las intervenciones dirigidas a cuidadores principales de personas dependientes mayores de 65 años. Una revisión sistemática.

BACKGROUND: In our environment, care of the dependent elderly is usually provided by family members, thereby ensuring autonomy and avoiding institutionalization of the dependent adult. Thirty-three percent of Spanish caregivers have acknowledged the importance of acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary for daily care. Consequently, several interventions have been developed by health professionals from distinct disciplines. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to systematically review and evaluate the efficacy of published interventions for the caregivers of dependent elderly individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on interventions in the caregivers of the dependent elderly (older than 65 years old) published between 1996 and 2006. The inclusion criteria included controlled clinical trials with outcome measures related to effectiveness in reducing caregiver burden, anxiety and depression. Our search yielded 15 reports. RESULTS: The interventions produced statistically significant reductions in burden (40%), anxiety (50%) and depression (90%). Interventions requiring active participation by caregivers and those based on cognitive-behavioral therapy were more effective than those focused on knowledge acquisition. CONCLUSION: Due to the heterogeneity of caregiving interventions, evaluation of both the clinical and statistical significance of these interventions is essential. Reducing the chronic stress experienced by caregivers is difficult to achieve. Consequently, future experimental designs should take into account the needs reported by caregivers as well as promote active participation.