Adapting Civility Education in an Academic-Practice Partnership.

BACKGROUND: Incivility results in nurse burnout, decreased job performance, and decreased patient safety. Leaders of an academic-practice partnership developed educational activities promoting organizational civility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this article is to describe an educational activity about civility that was transitioned to a virtual platform and participants' comfort engaging in and responding to incivility. METHOD: Face-to-face education was converted to a synchronous online event, supporting 75 nurses, nursing students, and other health care professionals in attendance. Activities consisted of cognitive rehearsal techniques, breakout rooms, simulation videos, group debriefs, and panel discussions delivered via Zoom and Mentimeter software. RESULTS: Workplace Civility Index results were significantly different from pretest to post-test. Seventy-two percent of participants were not comfortable gossiping about others, but only 30% were comfortable responding to incivility. CONCLUSION: Promoting civility awareness through a virtual education platform using cognitive rehearsal techniques and reflection can provide support for current and future nurses. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(12):575-580.].

Credentialing and certification: Overview, science, and impact on policy, regulation, and practice.

AIM: To engage the global nursing community in sharing knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned about credentialing of individual nurses to improve nursing practice, patient safety, and quality of care. BACKGROUND: Although the United States has a long and robust history of credentialing individual nurses, the opportunity exists to expand the dialogue globally, and is supported by globally focused governing bodies who call for increased or expanded investment in nursing certification and credentialing. Foundational work to define and operationalize certification for research purposes and develop an administrative home for stakeholders interested in certification can be leveraged by countries and regions globally. Existing frameworks for credentialing research may be used to drive theory-based research in the future. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: PubMed, International Council of Nurses, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, World Health Organization, American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the authors' own experiences. DISCUSSION: Credentialing as a form of self-governance, as a method for public protection, and as a foundational element in the increasingly new forms of healthcare delivery is intensifying in importance. Credentials provide an opportunity to evaluate relationships between key elements such as nursing practice, environments where nursing care is delivered, and nursing programs with outcomes of interest for the profession such as safety, quality of care, and patient outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Establishing rigorous credentials for nurses demonstrates a commitment to excellence. Credentialing frameworks that are universally applied could enable nurses to move seamlessly across geographic boundaries, permit regulators and employers of nurses to have a common set of standards and expectations, and ensure a level of competency for nursing practice that can be interpreted and trusted by various stakeholders. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: Policymakers have a pivotal role in advancing credentialing in nursing worldwide. Countries developing credentialing programs in nursing need to study their results to help inform how practice might be required to change over time.

Communicating Expectations: Developing a Rubric for Peer Reviewers.

The peer-review process is a form of self-regulation by qualified members of the profession to evaluate works done by one or more individuals. However, without a clear structure, the peer-review process can be problematic. Rubrics have been shown to increase peer reviewer satisfaction and author compliance, but only when they convey clear and specific descriptions for task-specific criteria. Sigma developed a peer-review rubric to provide consistency in judging scientific abstracts. An asynchronous provider-directed, provider-paced educational activity can be used to successfully educate peer reviewers on the benefit and use of a peer-review rubric. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(2):64-66.].

Innovative Opportunities for Civility: Professional Development in a Time of COVID-19.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing professional development has spurred innovative teaching efforts by educators. The application of new technology provided innovative support for participant engagement and allowed for evaluation of civility education learning outcomes. A technology expert provided necessary support in a live virtual environment. A planned dress rehearsal prior to the live event ensured the functionality of the virtual platform. The versatility of the new technology allowed breakout rooms and interactive software applications. Nursing professional development practitioners can use these tips to reimagine other face-to-face educational activities into a virtual platform. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(1):11-12.].

Educational Intervention Improves Communication Abilities of Nurses Encountering Workplace Incivility.

BACKGROUND: As the issues of incivility, lateral and horizontal violence, and bullying continue in nursing, strategies are needed to address these disruptive behaviors. Educational activities raise awareness of these issues and can improve the ability to reduce the frequency and overall impact of incivility. METHOD: This study used a pretest/posttest quasiexperimental mixed-methods design to improve dialogue and interpersonal engagement and to create behavioral change. The Workplace Civility Index (WCI) was used to measure interventional success. RESULTS: WCI scores improved significantly (p < .00001) for the experimental group postintervention. In contrast, the WCI scores decreased significantly for the control group (p = .000227). Within the experimental group, all participants noted the successful use of a positive conflict management strategy after the educational intervention. CONCLUSION: Although further research is recommended, this study provided evidence to support the efficacy of an asynchronous provider-directed, learner-paced e-learning educational activity in decreasing incivility and increasing perceived comfort level during critical conversations between nurses. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(3):138-144.].

Patients' perspective on choosing the emergency department for nonurgent medical care: a qualitative study exploring one reason for overcrowding.

INTRODUCTION: For decades it has been known that patients use emergency departments for nonurgent care needs. This study was conducted to help determine how the health care community can assist patients achieve consistent health care while meeting the patient's perceived needs. METHOD: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted based on interviews with 31 persons between 22 and 43 years of age following an ED visit for a nonurgent medical need. Exploration of the patient's perception was accomplished through open-ended questions in a structured interview format. Data were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Patients who participated in our study revealed 3 major themes: (1) They were unable to obtain an appointment with a primary care provider (PCP); (2) they were referred by the staff (not the doctor) in PCPs' offices to be evaluated in the emergency department; and (3) it took less of their time to be seen in the emergency department than it did to contact their PCP, only to then be told to go to the emergency department. DISCUSSION: The findings of this study support the need for health care providers to find ways to provide nonurgent care in a timely and efficient manner. Multiple options for providing this care need to be conceived and evaluated.