Nursing as a Calling: Using the Pedagogy of Reflection While on Mission.

ABSTRACT: This qualitative research study used the pedagogy of reflection as faculty guided undergraduate nursing students in self-reflection and critique while on a mission trip to South India. Working through a dichotomy of emotions, students began to view nursing as a calling and themselves as global citizens embracing cultural diversity.

Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration During Emergent Birth Center Transfers: A Quality Improvement Project.

INTRODUCTION: Midwifery care in the birth center setting has proven to be a safe and ideal option for some low-risk women. Although rare, perinatal complications that require emergent transfer to a higher level of care can occur in community birth settings. Optimal perinatal outcomes during emergent transfers depend on excellent interprofessional communication and collaboration. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement interprofessional emergent birth center transfer mock drills in order to improve communication and collaboration among birth center midwives, local paramedics, and receiving hospital staff during emergent birth center transfers. PROCESS: Birth center midwives and hospital staff provided education sessions on perinatal emergencies and the scope of practice for midwives for local paramedics. Paramedics' knowledge level was assessed with pretests and posttests, before and after the education sessions, respectively. An interprofessional, collaborative mock drill was then organized and included birth center, paramedic, and hospital staff. All participants received a questionnaire after the drill. OUTCOMES: Mean test scores after paramedic education sessions increased by 43.5% (n = 95, P <.001). The Likert-type scale questionnaire given to mock drill participants after drill completion revealed that 97% indicated probable support for the sustainability of future mock drills in the birth center setting (n = 10). DISCUSSION: Health care providers can help improve perinatal outcomes during emergent transfers from the community setting by having clearly outlined guidelines and procedures and communicating efficiently with interprofessional members of the health care team. Both interprofessional education sessions and collaborative mock drills are effective methods to increase knowledge of perinatal emergencies, thus improving interprofessional communication and collaboration during emergent birth center transfers.

Improving Neonatal Outcomes Through Global Professional Development.

BACKGROUND: Globally, stillbirths account for 2.7 million infant deaths each year, with the vast majority occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Approximately 900,000 infants die due to birth asphyxia. The focus of the Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) program is to help the nonbreathing infant to breathe within the first minute of life, termed the "Golden Minute." PURPOSE: To present a multinational interprofessional development program utilizing the train-the-trainer methodology for HBB to address neonatal morbidity and mortality. Involving nursing students in collaboration with established global partners provided an innovative method of professional development. Lessons learned and challenges will be shared to enhance success of future efforts. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: HBB train-the-trainer workshops were held to provide professional development for nurses and nursing students in 5 locations in 4 countries including Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, and Zambia. Workshop participants and the trainers participated in discussions and informal conversation to assess impact on professional development. RESULTS: HBB training and train-the-trainer workshops were implemented in 4 counties. Equipment and supplies were provided in these countries through several internal university grants. All 145 participants demonstrated increased knowledge and skills at the end of the workshops through the HBB check off. Collaborative teaching and cross-cultural professional skills were enhanced in student and faculty trainers. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nurses, midwives, and advance practice nurses can engage globally and contribute to closing this gap in knowledge and skills by providing train-the-trainer workshops. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Developing systems to integrate the HBB program within each country's existing healthcare infrastructure promotes in-country ownership. Joining the global effort to save the lives of neonates can be a meaningful opportunity for innovative professional development projects. While HBB education has been shown to save lives, a 1-time training is insufficient. Determining how often HBB updates or refreshers are required to maintain skills is an important next step. Another direction for research is to implement this project within prelicensure nursing programs.

Effectiveness of Peripheral Intravenous Skill Continuing Education Using Low-Fidelity Simulation Among Nurses in India.

BACKGROUND: Many nurses have limited opportunities to practice peripheral intravenous (IV) skill access until they begin their nursing career, particularly in limited resource settings. Continuing nursing education is needed for practicing nurses to build nurse capacity and skill accuracy in IV access globally. METHOD: A pretest-posttest design was used to measure effectiveness of peripheral IV continuing education among 180 nurses in India. A skills checklist was used to observe for skill accuracy using low-fidelity simulation. RESULTS: A statistically significant improvement in knowledge regarding peripheral IV skill access and care was found (p < .001), and 95% of nurse participants successfully simulated IV access accuracy after the continuing education intervention. CONCLUSION: Findings support the need for continuing nursing education to improve peripheral IV access and care knowledge and skill among nurses, particularly in low- and middle-income countries or other settings where hands-on experience is limited during undergraduate nursing education programs. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(6):255-261.

The Pad Project: A Global Initiative Uniting Women.

The Pad Project is a women's health program used to educate women on their monthly menstrual cycles. Through this ministry, women who do not have access to menstrual hygiene products are given sustainable hygienic kits to promote menstrual health. This unique health education program also integrates stories from the gospel to illustrate Christ's love and caring commitment toward women and women's health.

Travel as a Transformational Spiritual Event.

There is a philosophical connection between elements of travel and elements of spirituality. Nurses can develop spiritual intelligence, hone transcultural skills, and develop cultural humility through travel. Concepts of spiritual intelligence are incorporated to distinguish spirituality from religion. This discussion is to describe the spiritual attributes of travel through exploration of unique cultural sameness and differences, stepping out of one's routine, experiences of solitude, and the application to nursing. Venues such as study abroad, mission trips, cultural exchange opportunities, and service learning projects all can provide meaningful times of transformation, spiritual growth, learning new ways of doing things, and of being in the world. Nurses who integrate these practices into the care they provide daily will be enriched personally and rewarded with improved outcomes.

Facilitating skin-to-skin contact in the operating room after cesarean birth.

We implemented an evidence-based practice change to provide early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) in non-emergent, full-term cesarean surgical births among low-risk healthy women. There were three aims of this project: (1) To develop a protocol for health care professionals' roles in providing SSC in the operating room; (2) To implement the protocol; and (3) To evaluate the process of implementation of the evidence-based intervention. The "champion team" concept was crucial to the project's success.

Called to nursing: perceptions of student nurses.

PURPOSE: This study uncovers reasons students report for wanting to become nurses, to quantify those who feel that they are called to nursing, and to learn what "being called" means to them. METHOD: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted with all students enrolled in nursing courses at one program in a private, faith-based university. FINDINGS: Most students decided to go to nursing school while in high school or college and chose nursing because they had a desire to help others. The most common personal characteristics they identified that will be helpful in nursing were being caring or compassionate. Almost two thirds of the students indicated they were "called" by God to become nurses. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings can help nursing educators and leaders determine how to better recruit and retain individuals into the nursing profession and how to support and encourage caring and compassionate qualities in all nurses.

Nursing time and work in an acute rehabilitation setting.

Nursing staffing has long been recognized as a significant variable in a hospital budget even through the era of increased productivity and efficiency. In addition, patient acuity has been rising, and increasing demands on nursing personnel have been documented. These increased demands have affected nurse staffing, patient outcomes, and nurse retention, all of which have an impact on our healthcare system. Therefore, it is imperative that nursing time and work be examined in the acute rehabilitation setting--a setting in which research has been sparse. To estimate patient acuity, the activities of nursing personnel must be examined to establish timeframes for the care needed by patients. Previous studies have examined time and work according to pre-established patient acuity categories. California has passed legislation that requires mandatory nurse-staffing ratios in response to the concerns about the adequacy of patient care and safety. We did this study to assess the time and work related to patients with different diagnoses that are typically found in a rehabilitation unit. The data collected can be used to develop a patient acuity system. This study sought to identify how nurses spend their time so that hidden costs and important interventions can be addressed by an institution's administration.