The Current State of Kidney Supportive Care in Nephrology Nursing Practice: A Literature Review.

Kidney disease is associated with a high physical and psychological symptom burden. For patients whose condition is more compromised, receiving dialysis as a life-sustaining therapy may not improve longevity or quality of life. Palliative care for patients with kidney disease (also termed kidney supportive care [KSC]) is appropriate for this patient population. Nephrology nurses working in dialysis are well positioned to talk with patients about what patients perceive constitutes a meaningful life or death. A literature review was undertaken to find evidence about if and how nephrology nurses engage in KSC with patients receiving dialysis. Based on the 29 articles included in this review, the overarching finding was nephrology nurses working in dialysis are not routinely engaging in KSC. Reasons for this are varied and warrant further investigation.

"How to start that conversation?": Experiences of developing a virtual simulation about sexual health care for breast cancer survivors.

Virtual simulation (VS) is an innovative and engaging knowledge translation strategy that can improve healthcare providers' knowledge and skills. However, there is no known literature published related to the use of simulation to improve cancer survivorship care. In this paper, we describe our experience of developing a VS to educate primary healthcare professionals about sexual health disturbances among breast cancer survivors. Based on literature in other contexts, this VS may help increase health professionals' knowledge and skills needed to assist breast cancer survivors with sexual health concerns. Our VS development experience can be used to encourage and guide other researchers planning to develop similar interventions in the future.

Capability as a concept in advanced practice nursing and education: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and map how the concept of capability in advanced practice nursing and education is described in the literature. INTRODUCTION: Advanced practice nursing and education is often described in terms of the achievement of competencies. The concept of capability has been proposed as a more accurate description of the attributes of advanced practice nursing. Definitions of capability in advanced practice nursing vary, but often focus on the integration of prior knowledge, skills, resources, judgment, and experience when solving unanticipated problems or working in new situations. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider studies addressing the concept of individual capability in any setting related to advanced practice nursing education and practice. The working definition of capability in this review is a combination of knowledge, skills, experience, and competencies that enables advanced practice nurses to provide appropriate care for patients in both familiar and unfamiliar clinical settings. Advanced practice nurses will include nurses with both graduate education and an expanded scope of practice. METHODS: Eight academic databases will be searched for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods study designs. The gray literature search will include policy and practice documents from nursing and health organization websites. Two reviewers will independently complete title and abstract screening prior to full-text review and data extraction. Articles published in English from 1975 to the present will be included. Other languages will be included if translations are available.

Furthering Cultural Safety in Kidney Care Within Indigenous Communities: A Systematic and Narrative Review.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Cultural Safety is being prioritized within health care around the world. As a concept, Cultural Safety centers upon power relations between health providers and indigenous recipients of care, ensuring that all people feel safe and respected in the health care system. In this article, we explored the breadth of the literature regarding Cultural Safety within the context of indigenous kidney health care. STUDY DESIGN & POPULATIONS: As a systematic narrative review, this work engaged widely across a diverse range of the available literature to broaden understanding of Cultural Safety within indigenous kidney health care and indigenous populations from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. SEARCH STRATEGY & ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Guided by the research question focused on how Cultural Safety occurs within care for indigenous people with kidney disease, an initial database search by the university librarian resulted in retrieval of 2,232 articles, of which 96 potential articles were screened by the research team. RESULTS: 15 articles relevant to the research question were identified and study findings were assembled within 3 broad clusters: relationality, engagement, and health care self-determination; systemic issues, barriers, and access; and addressing legacies of colonialism for health care providers. LIMITATIONS: The review summarizes mainly qualitative articles given the paucity of articles found specific to Cultural Safety within indigenous contexts. CONCLUSIONS: Of particular interest to health care providers are the collation of solutions by cluster and the findings of this review that contribute to further understanding of the concept of Cultural Safety in health care for indigenous people with kidney disease. Also, findings address the importance of community-driven kidney care in which language, ways of knowing and being, and traditional ways of healing are prioritized.

Development of competencies for the use of bedside ultrasound for assessment and cannulation of hemodialysis vascular access.

Use of ultrasound for hemodialysis vascular access assessment and real-time cannulation requires specialized training. In order to obtain basic hand-eye coordination, theoretical sessions on ultrasound use, as well as practical sessions using phantom models are recommended prior to its use in the clinical setting with patients. New users of this technology need to consider that all competencies can be achieved with daily use of ultrasound at the bedside. It takes approximately 500 guided cannulations to achieve the highest level of competency described above.