Incorporating social justice learning into competency-based graduate nursing: A discussion of integrating pedagogies.

BACKGROUND: The impact of social inequity on the collective health of a society is well documented and, despite decades of research, the problem persists on a global scale. Nurse practitioners are competent to treat the downstream health effects of social inequity, but nursing students may lack the structural awareness to accurately target primary prevention efforts. OBJECTIVE: The authors discuss faculty preparation and pedagogical considerations when incorporating social justice learning into a graduate and post-graduate psychiatric nurse practitioner course. DESIGN/METHODS: Guided by Walter's Emancipatory Nursing Praxis model, several pedagogical strategies were developed to enhance graduate nursing students' awareness of oppressive and unjust realities in the healthcare setting. CONCLUSION: Emancipatory pedagogical strategies in competency-based graduate nursing education can enhance the transformative social learning essential for the development of health equity praxis.

Psychosocial support for providers working high-risk exposure settings during a pandemic: A critical discussion.

Psychological first aid is a form of support designed to lessen disaster-related distress. In a pandemic, providers may need such support but with the high risk of exposure, such a program is offered only virtually. The research is scant for traditional post-disaster support and non-existent for virtual; therefore, by using related research this discussion considers the likelihood of providers accessing and benefiting from this program. The virtual platform is heralded as the responsible way to provide support in a pandemic but this standard may be ineffective and is inherently inequitable. As a global event, pandemics require containment strategies applicable on an international level; therefore, psychosocial support should also be developed with an international audience in mind. Online psychosocial support falls short of being such a strategy as it incorrectly assumes global internet access. Many low-income areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa will need support strategies which compliment local frontline staff and fit with community-driven initiatives, whereas wealthier countries may use a combination of onsite and online support. Provider psychosocial support needs in a pandemic, if articulated, are globally similar but how this support is offered requires contextually sensitive considerations not yet found in the literature.