A realist synthesis of interprofessional patient safety activities and healthcare student attitudes towards patient safety.

Interprofessional education (IPE) has been used for instilling a positive safety culture within healthcare, yet what interventions work to change healthcare student attitudes and how improved patient safety outcomes are best achieved with this intervention, is unclear and challenging to evaluate. A realist synthesis was undertaken to ascertain how, why, and in what circumstances IPE activities result in a positive change to student attitudes to patient safety. Database searches of CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Eric were undertaken in April 2022 to identify relevant studies. Synthesis with a realist framework of analysis, coupled with the development of a program theory was conducted to identify interactions among contexts, intervention, mechanisms, and outcomes (CIMO). Twenty-three articles eligible for inclusion articulated environments in which varied contexts, interventions, and mechanisms were activated to influence student attitudes to patient safety. Findings from this realist synthesis informs awareness into the methods of delivering and evaluating IPE activities and offers new perspectives for educators in planning and evaluating future IPE from a collaborative and positive safety culture perspective.

Reshaping wound care: Evaluation of an artificial intelligence app to improve wound assessment and management amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wound documentation is integral to effective wound care, health data coding and facilitating continuity of care. This study evaluated the usability and effectiveness of an artificial intelligence application for wound assessment and management from a clinician-and-patient user perspective. A quasi-experimental design was conducted in four settings in an Australian health service. Data were collected from patients in the standard group (n = 166, 243 wounds) and intervention group (n = 124, 184 wounds), at baseline and post-intervention. Clinicians participated in a survey (n = 10) and focus group interviews (n = 13) and patients were interviewed (n = 4). Wound documentation data were analysed descriptively, and bivariate statistics were used to determine between-group differences. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted. Compared with the standard group, wound documentation in the intervention group improved significantly (more than two items documented 24% vs 70%, P < .001). During the intervention, 101 out of 132 wounds improved (mean wound size reduction = 53.99%). Positive evaluations identified improvements such as instantaneous objective wound assessment, shared wound plans, increased patient adherence and enhanced efficiency in providing virtual care. The use of the application facilitated remote patient monitoring and reduced patient travel time while maintaining optimal wound care.

The viability and acceptability of a Virtual Wound Care Command Centre in Australia.

The objective of this study was to assess the viability and acceptability of an innovative Virtual Wound Care Command Centre where patients in the community, and their treating clinicians, have access to an expert wound specialist service that comprises a digitally enabled application for wound analysis, decision-making, remote consultation, and monitoring. Fifty-one patients with chronic wounds from 9 centres, encompassing hospital services, outpatient clinics, and community nurses in one metropolitan and rural state in Australia, were enrolled and a total of 61 wounds were analysed over 7 months. Patients received, on average, an occasion of service every 4.4 days, with direct queries responded to in a median time of 1.5 hours. During the study period, 26 (42.6%) wounds were healed, with a median time to healing of 66 (95% CI: 56-88) days. All patients reported high satisfaction with their wound care, 86.4% of patients recommended the Virtual Wound Care Command Centre with 84.1% of patients reporting the digital wound application as easy to use. Potential mean travel savings of $99.65 for rural patients per visit were recognised. The data revealed that the Virtual Wound Care Command Centre was a viable and acceptable patient-centred expert wound consultation service for chronic wound patients in the community.

Effect of hospital simulation tutorials on nursing and pharmacy student perception of interprofessional collaboration: Findings from a pilot study.

Interprofessional learning (IPL) during formal training enables interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in the workforce; however, on-campus IPL opportunities are seldom incorporated into curricula. We describe the development and implementation of two hospital simulation tutorials between nursing and pharmacy students. Students were required to provide "usual care" to a simulated patient at admission and discharge. A pre-post survey design was used to evaluate changes in Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) score and student perceived educational value of the tutorials. The tutorials had a positive effect on IEPS scores (p < 0.001), whereas gender and profession did not appear to influence scores (p = 0.082 and p = 0.923, respectively). Tutorials were rated either good or very good by 89.9% of students and 79.6% of students reporting new insights into the other profession This tutorial format could be easily adapted by other institutions as an engaging and rewarding strategy to better prepare students for IPC the workforce.

Reshaping Wound Care: Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence App to Improve Wound Assessment and Management.

This study evaluated the usability and effectiveness of an artificial intelligence application for wound assessment and management from a clinician-and-patient perspective. A quasi-experimental design was conducted in four settings in an Australian health service. Data were collected from patients in the standard (n=166,243 wounds) and intervention (n=124,184 wounds) group, at baseline and post-intervention. Clinicians completed a survey (n=10) and focus group (n=13) and patients were interviewed (n=4). Wound documentation were analysed descriptively, bivariate statistics determined between-group differences, and interviews were thematically analysed. Compared with the standard group, wound documentation in the intervention group improved significantly (<2 items documented 24% vs 70%, P < .001). During the intervention, 101/132 wounds improved (mean wound size reduction=53.99%). Positive evaluations included instantaneous objective wound assessment, shared wound plans increased patient adherence and enhanced efficiency in providing virtual care. Application use facilitated remote patient monitoring and reduced patient travel time while maintaining optimal wound care.

The Viability and Acceptability of a Virtual Wound Care Command Centre in Australia.

The objective of this study was to assess the viability and acceptability of an innovative Virtual Wound Care Command Centre where patients in the community, and their treating clinicians, have access to an expert wound specialist service that comprises a digital wound application (app) for wound analysis, decision-making, remote consultation, and monitoring. Fifty-one patients with chronic (42.6%) wounds were healed, with a median time to healing of 66 (95% CI: 56-88) days. All patients reported high satisfaction with their wound care, 86.4% of patients recommended the Virtual Wound Care Command Centre with 84.1% of patients reporting the app as easy to use. The data revealed that the Virtual Wound Care Command Centre was a viable and acceptable patient-centred expert wound consultation service for chronic wound patients in the community.

Evaluating a large-scale introductory interprofessional education workshop for developing interprofessional socialisation in medical, nursing and pharmacy students: A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test study.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, healthcare students have been educated in discipline-specific silos with minimal interprofessional socialisation. Interprofessional education is fundamental for interprofessional socialisation and is an essential component of healthcare education. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of a large-scale interprofessional workshop implemented for first year medical, nursing and pharmacy students on changes in attitudes towards interprofessional socialisation and its perceived value. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental study design using pre and post questionnaires. SETTING: A Faculty of Medicine and Health at a large university in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 1008 students from the 2018 and 2019 cohorts of pre-qualification first year medical students (n = 444), nursing (n = 461) and pharmacy (n = 103) enrolled in a graduate entry degree program participated in the workshop. Complete data sets were collected from 37.1% (n = 374) of the participants. METHODS: The short-form Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale (ISVS-9) was administered before and after the IPE workshop. Linear mixed models were used to compare both the within group and between group pre- and post- questionnaire data. Percentages and frequencies were used to analyse data pertaining to participants' perceptions and experience of the workshop. Descriptive qualitative analysis of free-text responses was undertaken. RESULTS: Findings indicated that 80.8% (n = 440) of participants rated their workshop experience as good/very good. 64.6% (n = 352) of participants reported that it had changed how they considered other health professionals. Significant higher (p < 0.001) post questionnaire mean scores were demonstrated for nursing (5.63, SE0.05) and pharmacy students (5.82, SE 0.11). CONCLUSION: Findings provide support for the implementation of IPE for nursing, and pharmacy students. It is recommended that these initiatives are introduced at an early stage in their education to promote interprofessional socialisation and are repeated throughout the curricula.

The effectiveness of simulation-based blood pressure training in preregistration nursing students.

INTRODUCTION: Mastery of auscultatory blood pressure is challenging for preregistration nursing students. This phenomenon has been attributed to the psychomotor skills required, knowledge about blood pressure measurement, and the teaching modality type. Most studies focus on developing blood pressure proficiency without determining the measurement accuracy. We sought to determine the efficacy of simulation-based learning on blood pressure measurement accuracy in first-year preregistration nursing students. METHODS: First-year preregistration nursing students from a clinical subject were randomly assigned to laboratory groups, which formed the control and intervention groups. Each group received identical blood pressure measurement education, with the intervention group undertaking 2 additional hours of tuition, using human patient simulators programmed with a wide range of blood pressure measurements to replicate patient's blood pressures observed in clinical settings. At the end of the semester and after 40 hours of hospital clinical practice, participants were assessed for blood pressure accuracy on live subjects and completed a questionnaire on self-ratings of confidence and technical ability. RESULTS: Blood pressure accuracy was not significantly different between participants and assessors or between the control and intervention groups (all P > 0.05). The intervention group reported greater levels of confidence (P = 0.02) and self-rated technical ability (P = 0.01) in blood pressure measurement at week 14 of the semester; however, these difference were not observed at the end of 40 hours of clinical practice (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Accuracy in taking blood pressure was not enhanced by the use of a patient simulator, despite improvements in self-reported confidence and technical competency. Further research is required to evaluate the inclusion of simulation-based learning for blood pressure training in nursing students.