Impact of a Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Educational Program for Interdisciplinary Teams.

BACKGROUND: Successful implementation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) evidence-based guideline recommendations requires effective educational programs that target all clinicians from interdisciplinary teams. This study describes and evaluates the Engaging an Interdisciplinary Team for NSCLC (GAIN 3.0) experiential learning-based educational curriculum. METHODS: GAIN 3.0 was designed to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration for effective NSCLC diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. The program used a flipped classroom model that included an e-learning component prior to a live 6-hour interactive program. The interactive program included hands-on simulations, small group workshops, gamification, and case discussions. Participants included academic and community members of multidisciplinary lung cancer teams. Assessments included an online baseline survey, a pretest and posttest, a program evaluation, a long-term survey (LTS), and on-site faculty evaluation of participants. RESULTS: Of 416 attendees to 13 live GAIN 3.0 programs (nine in the United States and four in Europe), 304 (73%) completed the pretest and 187 (45%) completed the posttest. Out of a perfect score of 12 points, program participants had a mean test score of 6.3 ± 2.1 on the pretest (52%) and 7.8 ± 2.1 on the posttest (65%) (P = .03). There was an overall knowledge increase of 13% from pretest to posttest. Most LTS respondents (65%) rated the GAIN 3.0 live programs as "high impact." On the LTS, the areas with the greatest gains in participants who had very high confidence were communication across disciplines, use of a team-based approach, and personalized treatment. CONCLUSIONS: GAIN 3.0 was a highly successful interdisciplinary activity that improved participants' knowledge, competence, and likely the clinical care provided to patients with NSCLC.

Outcome evaluation of a new model of critical care orientation.

BACKGROUND: The shortage of critical care nurses and the service expansion of 2 intensive care units provided a unique opportunity to create a new model of critical care orientation. The goal was to design a program that assessed critical thinking, validated competence, and provided learning pathways that accommodated diverse experience. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of a new model of critical care orientation on satisfaction, retention, turnover, vacancy, preparedness to manage patient care assignment, length of orientation, and cost of orientation. METHODS: A prospective, quasi-experimental design with both quantitative and qualitative methods. RESULTS: The new model improved satisfaction scores, retention rates, and recruitment of critical care nurses. Length of orientation was unchanged. Cost was increased, primarily because a full-time education consultant was added. CONCLUSIONS: A new model for nurse orientation that was focused on critical thinking and competence validation improved retention and satisfaction and serves as a template for orientation of nurses throughout the medical center.