Academic Electronic Health Records in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Teaching students about electronic health records presents challenges for most nursing programs, primarily because of the limited training opportunities within clinical practice settings. A simulated electronic health record is an experiential, learner-centered strategy that enables students to acquire and apply the informatics knowledge needed for working with electronic records in a safe learning environment before the students have encounters with real patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to provide a preliminary evaluation of the Lippincott DocuCare simulated electronic health record and determine the feasibility issues associated with its implementation. METHODS: We used one-group pretest-posttest, surveys, and focus group interviews with students and instructors to pilot the DocuCare simulated electronic health record within an undergraduate nursing program in Western Canada. Volunteering students worked through 4 case scenarios during a 1-month pilot. Self-reported informatics knowledge and attitudes toward the electronic health record, accuracy of computerized documentation, satisfaction, and students' and educators' experiences were examined. Demographic and general information regarding informatics learning was also collected. RESULTS: Although 23 students participated in this study, only 13 completed surveys were included in the analysis. Almost two-thirds of the students indicated their overall understanding of nursing informatics as being fair or inadequate. The two-tailed paired samples t test used to evaluate the impact of DocuCare on students' self-reported informatics knowledge and attitudes toward the electronic health record revealed a statistically significant difference in the mean score of knowledge before and after using DocuCare (before: mean 2.95, SD 0.58; after: mean 3.83, SD 0.39; t 12=5.80, two-tailed; P<.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of attitudes toward the electronic health record before and after using DocuCare (before: mean 3.75, SD 0.40; after: mean 3.70, SD 0.34; t 12=0.39, two-tailed; P=.70). Students' documentation scores varied from somewhat accurate to completely accurate; however, performance improved for the majority of students as they progressed from case scenarios 1 to 4. Both the faculty and students were highly satisfied with DocuCare and highly recommended its integration. Focus groups with 7 students and 3 educators revealed multiple themes. The participants shared suggestions regarding the DocuCare product customization and strategies for potential integration in undergraduate nursing programs. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the feasibility and suitability of the DocuCare program as a tool to enhance students' learning about informatics and computerized documentation in electronic health records. Recommendations will be made to academic leadership in undergraduate programs on the basis of this study. Furthermore, a controlled evaluation study will be conducted in the future.

Interprofessional simulation to promote teamwork and communication between nursing and respiratory therapy students: A mixed-method research study.

BACKGROUND: Collaboration and teamwork are vitally important for safe patient care. Experiential learning through interprofessional simulation helps prepare students for the expansive requirements of today's complex healthcare environment. PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate an interprofessional simulation educational activity to promote teamwork and communication between respiratory therapy and nursing students. DESIGN: A mixed method design employing surveys, observation, and focus groups with educators and students was used. Thirty-six students from two institutions in Western Canada participated in this study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. RESULTS: Baseline assessment revealed students were most familiar and comfortable with team functioning and communication interprofessional competencies, familiar but uncomfortable with collaborative leadership, conflict resolution, patient-centered care, and role clarification competencies. Correlation between communication and teamwork and collaborative leadership suggests these competencies play an important role in students' ability to enact more complex skills, such as conflict resolution competency. Overall, participants were highly satisfied and shared invaluable insights for improving this simulation experience in the future. CONCLUSION: This evaluation study demonstrated feasibility of interprofessional simulation and its potential to enhance acquisition of interprofessional competencies. A future study will incorporate additional disciplines, such as medicine and pharmacy, applying a controlled evaluation design.

A Feasibility Study of a Volunteer Navigation Program in the Palliative Context.

AIMS: This mixed methods longitudinal study evaluated Nav-CARE for feasibility, acceptability, ease of use, and satisfaction by older persons and volunteers. METHODS: Nine volunteer navigators visited 23 older persons with serious illness every 3 to 4 weeks for 1 year. Data were collected from volunteer navigators, and older person participants at baseline, during the year- long implementation and post implementation. RESULTS: Volunteer navigators and older persons reported Nav-CARE was easy to use, feasible and acceptable. The majority of older persons agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the navigation services (100%; 8/8), that navigation services were important to them (87%; 7/8), that they would recommend the program to someone else (87%; 7/8), and would participate in the program again (75%; 6/8). Similarly, volunteer navigators reported 100% (9/9) satisfaction with the program, 100% (9/9) would recommend it to others, and 67% (6/8) would participate again. CONCLUSIONS: Nav-CARE appears to be a feasible, acceptable, and satisfactory program for older persons with serious illness and volunteer navigators.

Crisis and continuity: Rural health care students respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak in Winter (2020) has caused widespread disruption for health sciences students undergoing clinical placements-vital periods of experiential learning that cannot be substituted with distance alternatives. For students placed in rural areas, already coping with isolation, precarious supply chains and shortages of essential personnel, the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak may have far-reaching implications for psychosocial wellness, self-efficacy and clinical judgment. Four nursing and eight medical students (n = 12) supplied photographs and commentary documenting the experience of withdrawing suddenly from clinical sites in rural Alberta. Collaborative, thematic analysis revealed continuities between pre- and post-outbreak life, both for the students and their rural hosts. Social determinants of health such as seclusion, environmental hazards, and health-seeking behaviors carried over and compounded the effects of the outbreak on the placement communities and clinical sites. Other continuities included the reliance on technology for clinical and social connectivity, and capitalizing on natural settings to cope with isolation and confinement. Prolonged liminality, lack of closure, and the loss of team identity were the greatest stressors brought on by the suspension of clinical activities. However, the participants felt well equipped to deal with these circumstances through the resilience, adaptability, and community ethos acquired during their placements.

Development of an instructor guide tool: 'Three Stages of Holistic Debriefing'.

OBJECTIVE: to describe the development of an English and Brazilian Portuguese Holistic Debriefing Tool focused on nursing educator to promote a reflective learning. METHOD: a methodology study, with three phases: integrative literature review; tool development and review of a panel of nursing experts. The literature review tracked a systematic process. For the tool development were used literature review results, Lederman's Debriefing Process and Zabala's learning framework as theoretical referential to promote a reflective learning in High-Fidelity Simulation. The panel of nursing experts analysed the quality of the tool. RESULTS: literature review evidenced gaps about educator pedagogical preparation and indicated no holistic debriefing tool exists which captures formative and summative aspects of debriefing guidance to assist the educator to debrief. Debriefing tool was purposed with two pages: first page were recommended how conduct debriefing and second page is a questions guidance. The tool evaluation was undertaken for a total of three modifications for congruence and concept reader clarity. CONCLUSION: it was proposed a holistic debriefing tool focused on nursing educator. This study provides an overall picture of the process to promote a reflexive learning in High-Fidelity Simulation and to contribute to formal nursing educator training to apply best pedagogical practice.

Peripheral Venipuncture Education Strategies for Nursing Students: An Integrative Literature Review.

This integrative literature review identified strategies to teach peripheral venipuncture to nursing students. The following databases were searched for primary studies: Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), PubMed, Web of Science, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), SCOPUS, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). The final sample was composed of 24 studies. The literature ranged from descriptive studies to controlled clinical trials and methodologic studies to construct products/instruments for teaching peripheral venipuncture. The most frequently identified teaching strategies were theoretical contents taught via theoretical lecture, e-learning courses, video lessons, and demonstration by specialists combined with practical exercises using a mannequin, human arms, and/or haptic devices. Despite the different methods used currently, the best patient outcomes were achieved when the student received the theoretical content in an educational setting before the practical training on a mannequin and/or a virtual simulator.

Development of an instructor guide tool: 'Three Stages of Holistic Debriefing' / Desenvolvimento de um guia de orientação para instrutores: "Três Estágios do Debriefing holístico" / Desarrollo de una guía para el instructor: 'Tres Fases del Debriefing Holístico'

Objective: to describe the development of an English and Brazilian Portuguese Holistic Debriefing Tool focused on nursing educator to promote a reflective learning. Method: a methodology study, with three phases: integrative literature review; tool development and review of a panel of nursing experts. The literature review tracked a systematic process. For the tool development were used literature review results, Lederman's Debriefing Process and Zabala's learning framework as theoretical referential to promote a reflective learning in High-Fidelity Simulation. The panel of nursing experts analysed the quality of the tool. Results: literature review evidenced gaps about educator pedagogical preparation and indicated no holistic debriefing tool exists which captures formative and summative aspects of debriefing guidance to assist the educator to debrief. Debriefing tool was purposed with two pages: first page were recommended how conduct debriefing and second page is a questions guidance. The tool evaluation was undertaken for a total of three modifications for congruence and concept reader clarity. Conclusion: it was proposed a holistic debriefing tool focused on nursing educator. This study provides an overall picture of the process to promote a reflexive learning in High-Fidelity Simulation and to contribute to formal nursing educator training to apply best pedagogical practice.

Objetivo: descrever o desenvolvimento de um guia holístico de debriefing, em inglês e português do Brasil, focado em enfermeiros educadores para promover a aprendizagem reflexiva. Método: estudo metodológico, com três fases: revisão integrativa de literatura, desenvolvimento do guia e sua avaliação por um painel de especialistas em enfermagem. A revisão de literatura seguiu um processo sistemático. Para o desenvolvimento do guia, os resultados da revisão de literatura foram utilizados, juntamente com o processo de debriefing de Lederman e o referencial de aprendizagem de Zabala, como base teórica para promover a aprendizagem reflexiva durante a Simulação de Alta Fidelidade. O painel de especialistas em enfermagem analisou a qualidade do guia. Resultados: a revisão da literatura revelou lacunas na preparação dos educadores pedagógicos e a ausência de ferramentas holísticas de debriefing que incluam os aspectos formativos e sumativos de orientação em debriefing para auxiliar os educadores. O guia de debriefing foi desenvolvido em duas páginas: a primeira página recomenda como conduzir o debriefing e a segunda contém perguntas de orientação. O guia foi avaliado e passou por um total de três modificações para congruência dos itens avaliados e adequação dos termos utilizados. Conclusão: foi proposto um guia holístico de debriefing visando enfermeiros educadores. Este estudo fornece uma visão geral do processo para promover a aprendizagem reflexiva na Simulação de Alta Fidelidade e contribui para o treinamento formal de enfermeiros educadores para a aplicação das melhores práticas pedagógicas.

Objetivo: describir el desarrollo de un Instrumento del Debriefing Holístico en inglés y portugués brasileño dirigido al educador de enfermería para promover un aprendizaje reflexivo. Método: estudio metodológico, con tres fases: revisión integradora de la literatura, desarrollo del instrumento, y revisión de un panel de expertos en enfermería. La revisión de la literatura siguió un proceso sistemático. Para el desarrollo del instrumento se utilizaron los resultados de la revisión de la literatura, el proceso de debriefing de Lederman y el sistema de aprendizaje de Zabala como referencial teórico para promover un aprendizaje reflexivo en la Simulación de Alta Fidelidad. El panel de expertos en enfermería analizó la calidad del instrumento. Resultados: la revisión de la literatura evidenció carencias en la preparación pedagógica del educador e indicó que no existe un instrumento integral de debriefing estructurada que capture los aspectos formativos y sumativos de la orientación del debriefing estructurado para ayudar al educador a realizarlo. El instrumento de del debriefing estructurado se preparó utilizando dos páginas: la primera muestra cómo realizar del debriefing estructurado y la segunda es una guía de preguntas. La evaluación del instrumento se realizó para un total de tres modificaciones para la congruencia y la claridad de lectura de los conceptos. Conclusión: se propone un Instrumento del Debriefing Holístico dirigido al educador de enfermería. Este estudio proporciona una visión general del proceso para promover un aprendizaje reflexivo en la Simulación de Alta Fidelidad y contribuir a la capacitación formal del educador de enfermería para aplicar la mejor práctica pedagógica.

'We have to drive everywhere': rural nurses and their precepted students.

INTRODUCTION: Travel safety culture is a vital aspect of nursing in rural western Canada, where long distances and severe weather are commonplace. However, this culture is poorly understood owing to the absence of official policy, and the tendency of rural nurses to take travel risks and burdens in stride, rather than advocating for change. Travel risks and burdens include extreme weather events such as tornadoes and blizzards; unmarked routes and hazards; distance, time and expense; and driver fatigue. In such rural settings, the safety and health of visitors, novices and students are of particular concern. The researchers sought to elicit the tacit knowledge of rural registered nurses, and their students undertaking rural nursing preceptorships, pertaining to rural travel issues and best practices for safety and wellbeing. METHODS: Through purposive and snowball sampling, the researchers recruited seven senior nursing students and five nurse preceptors. Seven rural acute and community care sites, between 42 km and 416 km distant from the students' primary place of study, were covered by the study. Photovoice, a participant action modality, was employed to collect photographic and qualitative interview data from participants over 10 weeks, between February and April 2016. The data were analyzed thematically, in collaboration with participants, who in turn validated the results. A digital storytelling initiative was attempted, to further involve participants in dissemination of findings, but only one participant took part in this phase of the project. RESULTS: The central finding of the study was that nursing students learn to accept and manage limitations - and to recognize and capitalize on opportunities - when undertaking rural preceptorships. With regard to road safety, the students were found to be particularly vulnerable to long distances, hazardous conditions, fuel and cellular data expenses, and fatigue. These issues were compounded by the students' reluctance to speak up, or to miss shifts, when they felt unsafe or unwell. Their preceptors role modeled autonomy and community ethos as the foundations of a frontline, extemporaneous road safety culture. This entailed personal safety measures borne from rural experience and background, familiarity with the countryside, and community connectedness with other healthcare sites in place of any official public alert system. The preceptors furthermore benefited from strong union protection for occupational health and safety concerns, but students being taught in rural settings had no such advantage. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students should have the same occupational health and safety protections as their rural preceptors, especially the right to refuse travel, without penalty, in unsafe circumstances. Better travel subsidies and road safety measures during rural preceptorship may help increase the likelihood of students considering a rural career path. Furthermore, the frontline, community-based road safety experience of rural nurses is an untapped source of information for educators and policymakers. Such information will become more and more vital as a diminishing number of rural nurses are called upon to care for an aging client base.

Putting the (R) ural in preceptorship.

Rural nursing is recognized as a unique health care domain. Within that context, the preceptorship experience is purported to be an important approach to preparing safe and competent rural practitioners. Preceptorship is the one-to-one pairing of a nursing student with a professional nurse who assumes the mandate of teacher and role model in a designated clinical/contextual setting, in this case the rural setting. A research gap exists in the literature in which rural preceptorship is specifically explored. The purpose of this paper is to review preceptorship in relation to preparing nursing students specifically for the rural setting. Understanding how preceptorship as an educational model can prepare nursing students to transition to rural practice is an important endeavor. An authentic rural preceptorship may serve to influence the recruitment and retention needs for registered nurses in rural areas. A greater understanding of rural preceptorship serves to illustrate the appropriate support, socialization and contextual competence required to prepare nursing students for rural nursing practice. This paper's review may serve to highlight the research that currently exists related to rural preceptorship and where additional research can contribute to further understanding and development for authentic rural nursing preparation.

Perceptions of extrinsic factors that contribute to a nursing internship experience.

Clinical learning experiences have always been considered a hallmark of nursing education. Introduced in 2004, the ten-week paid internship is a fourth year summer course offered to select students who have demonstrated strong academic and clinical performance. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study designed to explore student and staff perceptions about extrinsic factors that promote or impede learning during a nursing internship course. A descriptive exploratory design was used to conduct this research. Findings have been grouped into two main themes: extrinsic factors that promote interns' learning and extrinsic factors that impede interns' learning. The sub-themes under extrinsic factors that promote interns' learning are: staff making themselves available, having knowledge of policy, and units setting the tone for success. The sub-themes under extrinsic factors that impede interns' learning are: difficulty accessing staff, lack of knowledge of policy, and units not setting the tone for success. It is apparent that the factors identified in this study are similar to those found in the literature. It is striking that research findings of multiple studies examining factors that affect clinical learning converge regardless of the context or clinical learning models examined.