Pharmacy-Based Nursing Education Utilizing a Social Media Platform.

Social media has changed the way individuals communicate and recently multiple articles have been published highlighting the utilization of social media for education. To our knowledge, cross-discipline education utilizing these platforms has not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to implement a pharmacist-led, social media-based nursing education program and evaluate the perceived value. A curriculum of pharmacy-related issues was developed and topics were posted to the neurocritical care unit (NCCU) Facebook group or emailed to non-Facebook users weekly. A pre- and posteducation survey was sent out evaluating the program's effectiveness. Thirty-seven nurses were members of the NCCU Facebook group and 33 received the education via email. A total of 29% and 19% of nurses completed the pre- and posteducation survey, respectively. Of those who completed the survey, 36% received education via Facebook. As compared with the preeducation survey, there were no statistically significant differences in nursing performance on fact-based questions (P value > .05 on all assessment questions); however, 100% of respondents wanted to continue this education delivery. Utilizing social media as a means of cross-discipline education was well-received; however, the solitary utilization should be used cautiously, as performance did not improve on assessment questions.

Outcomes of an Oral Care Protocol in Postmechanically Ventilated Patients.

BACKGROUND: Oral care is standard practice to prevent hospital-associated infections while patients are intubated and in the intensive care unit. Following extubation and transfer, infections remain an important risk for patients, but less attention is paid to oral care. Few studies have assessed the impact of oral care in recently extubated acutely ill patients. AIMS: To develop an evidence-based oral care protocol for hospitalized patients and determine the impact of this protocol on health outcomes in recently extubated patients. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, subjects were randomized to usual care or an intervention protocol that included tooth brushing, tongue scraping, flossing, mouth rinsing, and lip care. Major outcome measures were the revised THROAT (R-THROAT; oral cavity assessment) and overall prevalence of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus on oral cultures. RESULTS: Seventy-four subjects were randomized. As measured by the R-THROAT, oral cavity health improved over time in both groups, but the intervention group demonstrated significantly more improvement than the control group (R-THROAT score improved by 1.97 intervention vs. 0.87 control; p = .04). Two categories, tongue and mouth comfort, demonstrated the most significant improvement. There was no difference in MSSA/MRSA colonization between the groups at the conclusion of the study. Overall, subjects in the intervention group were more satisfied with their protocol than subjects in the usual care group. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: This study offers an important evaluation of an oral care protocol after extubation. Results demonstrated improvement in the oral cavity assessment with the designed oral care protocol. Patients expressed a preference for the intervention protocol, which included a battery-operated toothbrush, higher-quality toothpaste and mouth rinse, tongue scraper, floss, and lip balm. The implementation of an oral care protocol specifically addressing patients in the immediate postintubation is essential.