Time-to-Task in Interval Simulated Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training: A Method for Maintaining Resuscitation Skills.

PURPOSE: The literature supports interval simulation training as a means of improving nurses' cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills. The aim of this project was to improve the time-to-task skills in single-rescuer basic life support (BLS) in an outpatient surgery center through interval simulation training. DESIGN: Quality Improvement project. METHODS: Twenty-nine nursing staff were included in this pretest/post-test within subjects interventional design quality improvement project. A 2-minute pretest cardiac arrest simulation was performed in the outpatient surgery center where time-to-task and quality of CPR data were collected. The pretest was followed by a lecture and CPR training. Three months later, the simulation was post-tested in an identical scenario with measures of time-to-task and quality of CPR. FINDINGS: The mean times for code bell activation and initiation of CPR decreased significantly following the interval simulation training (P < .05). A clinically significant decrease was seen in the mean time-to-task placement of a backboard on code team arrival. CONCLUSIONS: Interval simulation training is an effective means of maintaining CPR skills in the outpatient surgery center setting.

Creating Inclusive Learning Environments for Chinese and American Pediatric Nursing Students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, students from two schools of nursing, in China and the United States respectively, engaged in a transcultural simulation activity to explore how a global healthcare crisis has been managed within their different cultures. This article describes the development and implementation of the project and evaluates student perspectives on the simulation...s influence on increasing awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Data for this project were collected through student verbal and written reflections and faculty comments. Results: Students reported the virtual simulation positively impacted their learning and enjoyed the opportunity to navigate through a virtual scenario collaboratively while discussing cultural similarities and differences. Faculty noted the simulation was valuable and described challenges faced during the development. Conclusions: Students and faculty found the simulation was a meaningful learning experience. Findings suggests that the transcultural simulation improved student knowledge of cultural competence and understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion constructs.

Nursing Faculty Workload: Balancing Fiscal Responsibility and Faculty Satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Nursing faculty and nursing program administrators share the goal of equitable faculty workload. Faculty teaching assignments and other academic workload can affect productivity and faculty satisfaction. PROBLEM: Models for workload calculation need to account for multiple factors including mission, faculty position and rank, faculty expertise, and financial resources. The nursing faculty shortage, organizational structure, and fluctuations in student volumes further complicate achievement of a balanced workload model. APPROACH: A task force identified existing parameters for workload and assessed faculty satisfaction and teaching assignment preferences at a Midwest metropolitan university college of nursing. OUTCOMES: A new workload model was developed and accepted. The work highlighted course load expectations, financial realities, and negotiations between nursing faculty and nursing program administrators. CONCLUSIONS: Lessons learned suggest considering the academic year overall rather than each semester separately and reaffirm the importance of continual, clear communications between nursing faculty and nursing program administrators.

Melatonin and melatonin-receptor agonists to prevent delirium in hospitalized older adults: An umbrella review.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in circadian rhythm play an important role in the development of delirium. In this umbrella review, we examined the efficacy of melatonin and ramelteon for delirium prevention in hospitalized older adults. METHODS: Umbrella review methodology from the Joanna Briggs Institute guided the review process. Only meta-analyses were included. Risk of bias was evaluated using the AMSTAR-2 checklist. RESULTS: Three meta-analyses were included in this review. The quality of studies was low-to-moderate. Two meta-analyses reported a significant reduction in delirium using melatonin or ramelteon (pooled OR and 95% confidence intervals ranged from 0.41 [0.19-0.86] to 0.63 [0.46-0.87]). Melatonergics significantly reduced delirium on medical units (OR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.07-0.88) but not surgical units (OR = 0.62, 0.16-2.43). Heterogenity was high, with I2 ranging from 72.14% to 84%. CONCLUSIONS: Melatonergics appear to prevent delirium among hospitalized older adults, particularly those on medical units. Based on these results, providers may consider using melatonergics as complements to high-quality multicomponent delirium prevention.

Skills, community, and rapport: Prelicensure nursing students in the virtual learning environment.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic forced changes in program delivery across nursing education. This article describes the innovative virtual lab sessions designed and implemented for Foundations and Pediatrics courses in an Accelerated Baccalaureate Science in Nursing program. The objectives of this quality improvement project were to (1) ascertain student perceptions of learning in virtual lab environment (2) identify benefits and barriers to planning and implementing virtual learning experiences, and (3) explore student attitudes and perceptions regarding group dynamics and the sense of community provided by virtual lab sessions. METHODS: A cross-sectional approach was employed with two cohorts (Cohort 1, n = 71; Cohort 2, n = 86). Students completed a survey and responded to open-ended questions regarding their virtual clinical lab experiences. RESULTS: The four themes of small group dynamics, resource availability, hands-on activities, and sense of community emerged as the characteristics students liked most about virtual lab sessions with 95% of students reporting the virtual lab sessions were engaging. Overall student survey responses were favorable to the virtual labs. DISCUSSION: This project demonstrates that nursing educators were able to design and implement innovative teaching and learning strategies in a virtual environment to promote knowledge, skills, and attitudes while nurturing a sense of community.

Telehealth in Pediatric Gastroenterology Can Be a Sustainable Long-Term Option: A Single-Center Experience.

None: Telehealth has been a well-established system of care delivery at Kaiser Permanente Northwest Pediatric Gastroenterology since before the COVID-19 era, where 54% of our completed pediatric gastroenterology encounters in the past year were virtual visits. Although it was previously limited in its use across the majority of health care in the US, telehealth is now a widely accepted system in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this unprecedented rapid expansion of telehealth within both new and established telehealth systems is not without challenges or quality concerns. In this report, we present our single-center experience from the past year where virtual care was already an integral part of our clinical practice in pediatric gastroenterology and review satisfaction data and quality measures from the COVID-19 era where our existing telehealth system expanded to nearly exclusive virtual care.

Simulation in Undergraduate Education.

Simulation is an integral component of undergraduate nursing education because it allows for a safe, timely, and prescriptive approach to meet learning objectives at the levels of individual simulations, courses, and academic programs. This review of the literature provides an overview of steps taken to move simulation forward in undergraduate nursing education, and it highlights educational theories, research, best practices, and policy statements underpinning modern nursing simulation. This chapter outlines simulation and curriculum integration approaches and provides examples of participant, course, and program outcomes.

A Tool to Assess the Signs and Symptoms of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection: Development and Reliability.

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the inter-rater reliability of four clinical manifestations of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) among hospitalized adults with short-term indwelling urinary catheters using a tool developed for this purpose: the CAUTI Assessment Profile (CAP). Study participants included 30 non-pregnant English-speaking adults, recruited from two community hospitals. Three nurses assessed each participant for fever, suprapubic tenderness, flank tenderness, and delirium using standardized techniques. Based on the generalized Kappa statistic and 95% confidence intervals, there was evidence of strong inter-rater reliability for fever (K = 1.00, 0.793-1.207), suprapubic tenderness (K = 0.39, 0.185-0.598), and delirium (K = 0.58, 0.379-0.792), but not for flank tenderness (K = 0.29, -0.036 to 0.617). This study provides preliminary evidence that the CAP can be used to consistently identify these clinical signs and symptoms of CAUTI in hospitalized adults.

Mechanical hyperalgesia and reduced quality of life occur in people with mild knee osteoarthritis pain.

OBJECTIVES: This study determined whether individuals with mild knee pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) experience hyperalgesia and central sensitivity by comparing them with age-matched and sex-matched control participants and determined whether these levels are associated with pain intensity. This study also determined whether these individuals experience significantly poorer quality of life than age-matched and sex-matched controls and whether pain and function predict quality of life. METHODS: Quantitative sensory tests (QSTs), including punctate pain intensity (PPI), pressure pain threshold (PPT), and heat pain threshold, tolerance, and temporal summation, were measured in 75 individuals with mild knee OA pain and 25 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Pain intensity, walking function, and quality of life were also assessed. RESULTS: Significant differences were found for PPI at all sites, for PPT at the affected knee, and for quality of life. QST measures significantly correlated with pain intensity. Pain, but not function, predicted quality of life. DISCUSSION: Individuals with mild knee pain due to OA experience mechanical (but not thermal) hyperalgesia that relates to pain intensity. They have a reduced quality of life that is predicted by pain intensity. More aggressive pain management for mild knee OA pain is indicated to improve the quality of life for individuals who are not yet candidates for joint replacement.

HI-TENS reduces moderate-to-severe pain associated with most wound care procedures: a pilot study.

This study systematically examined pain associated with wound care procedures (WCPs) and evaluated the effectiveness of high-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (HI-TENS) for reducing this pain in a two-phase design. Phase 1 (N = 57) examined patient, wound, and procedural factors, as well as analgesic intake, associated with WCPs. Pain during the WCPs was rated on a 0-10 numerical scale. Subjects reported a mean pain of 6.0 (standard deviation 3.04) during Phase 1, with 43 (75.4%) subjects experiencing moderate or severe pain (i.e., ≥4). Subjects who received opioid and/or nonopioid analgesia 1 hr before or during the WCPs (36.8%) reported significantly higher pain levels than those who had not received analgesia (p = .013). In Phase 2, 23 subjects with ≥4 pain during Phase 1 had HI-TENS applied to the area surrounding the wound during the WCPs. HI-TENS significantly reduced WCP pain by a mean of 2.0 (±2.31; effect size = 0.67; p = .001). This effect was significant for subjects with severe Phase 1 pain (i.e., ≥8; effect size = 1.00; p = .007) but not for subjects with moderate Phase 1 pain (i.e., 4-7; effect size = 0.40; p = .053). These findings demonstrate that pain during WCPs is a significant problem, that nurses appropriately administer analgesics but these are not sufficient, and that using HI-TENS may further reduce pain, particularly in patients experiencing severe WCP pain.

Predictors of postoperative movement and resting pain following total knee replacement.

This study determined preoperative predictors of movement and resting pain following total knee replacement (TKR). We hypothesized that younger patients with higher preoperative pain intensity, pain sensitivity, trait anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and depression would be more likely to experience higher postoperative movement pain than older patients with lower scores on these variables prior to surgery, and that predictors would be similar for resting pain. Demographics, analgesic intake, anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, resting pain, movement pain (ie, during active knee range of motion), and quantitative sensory tests were performed preoperatively on 215 participants scheduled for a unilateral TKR. On postoperative day 2, analgesic intake, resting pain, and movement pain were again assessed. Significant predictors of moderate or severe movement pain were higher preoperative movement pain, von Frey pain intensity, and heat pain threshold. People with severe movement pain preoperatively were 20 times more likely to have severe movement pain postoperatively. When the influence of preoperative movement pain was removed, depression became a predictor. Significant predictors of moderate to severe resting pain were higher preoperative resting pain, depression, and younger age. These results suggest that patients with higher preoperative pain and depression are more likely to have higher pain following TKR, and younger patients may have higher resting pain. Cutaneous pain sensitivity predicted movement pain but not resting pain, suggesting that mechanisms underlying movement pain are different from resting pain. Aggressive management of preoperative pain, pain sensitivity, and depression prior to surgery may facilitate postoperative recovery.

Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on pain, pain sensitivity, and function in people with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is commonly used for the management of pain; however, its effects on several pain and function measures are unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of high-frequency TENS (HF-TENS) and low-frequency TENS (LF-TENS) on several outcome measures (pain at rest, movement-evoked pain, and pain sensitivity) in people with knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN: The study was a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: The setting was a tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-five participants with knee osteoarthritis (29 men and 46 women; 31-94 years of age) were assessed. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly assigned to receive HF-TENS (100 Hz) (n=25), LF-TENS (4 Hz) (n=25), or placebo TENS (n=25) (pulse duration=100 microseconds; intensity=10% below motor threshold). MEASUREMENTS: The following measures were assessed before and after a single TENS treatment: cutaneous mechanical pain threshold, pressure pain threshold (PPT), heat pain threshold, heat temporal summation, Timed "Up & Go" Test (TUG), and pain intensity at rest and during the TUG. A linear mixed-model analysis of variance was used to compare differences before and after TENS and among groups (HF-TENS, LF-TENS, and placebo TENS). RESULTS: Compared with placebo TENS, HF-TENS and LF-TENS increased PPT at the knee; HF-TENS also increased PPT over the tibialis anterior muscle. There was no effect on the cutaneous mechanical pain threshold, heat pain threshold, or heat temporal summation. Pain at rest and during the TUG was significantly reduced by HF-TENS, LF-TENS, and placebo TENS. LIMITATIONS: This study tested only a single TENS treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Both HF-TENS and LF-TENS increased PPT in people with knee osteoarthritis; placebo TENS had no significant effect on PPT. Cutaneous pain measures were unaffected by TENS. Subjective pain ratings at rest and during movement were similarly reduced by active TENS and placebo TENS, suggesting a strong placebo component of the effect of TENS.