Cultivating Sense of Belongingness Among Graduate Nursing Students: A Virtual Fitness Challenge.

ABSTRACT: Sense of belongingness in the academic environment has been associated with positive student outcomes and increased student success. To cultivate belongingness, graduate nursing students were invited to participate in a virtual fitness challenge. Sense of belongingness was measured through pre- ( n = 103) and post-intervention ( n = 64) surveys with three subscales: other students, faculty, and the university. Students reported improved sense of belongingness following the intervention for all subscales, with statistically significant improvements related to other students ( p = .007) and the university ( p = .023). A virtual fitness challenge may improve sense of belongingness among graduate nursing students.

A clinical-academic partnership to develop a family management intervention for parents of preterm infants.

AIMS: To examine the critical role that an academic clinical partnership played in the development and refinement of a family management intervention in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). BACKGROUND: Clinical-academic partnerships enable earlier infusion of implementation science principles into development of evidence-based interventions, yet partners often report difficulty leveraging resources, personnel and expertise to create beneficial outcomes for all. DESIGN: Longitudinal qualitative descriptive design. METHODS: To develop and refine the intervention, designated time was taken during meetings of the NICU's Parent Partnership Council (PPC), a committee comprised of nursing, physician and allied health leadership and former NICU parents. Partnership was also achieved by having bedside clinical nurses, in addition to medical and nursing students, participate as research team members. Qualitative data were collected via email, research team and Council meetings, and informal individual chats with key stakeholders (N = 25) and NICU mothers (N = 22). Qualitative data were analysed deductively using thematic analysis based on MacPhee's partnership logic model and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) model. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist guided our work. RESULTS: During Council meetings, the clinical-academic nurse, Director of Family-Integrated Care and Council members identified the need for a family management intervention, and worked together to develop and refine PREEMIE PROGRESS. Mothers found the intervention had numerous strengths and perceived a benefit knowing they helped future parents. CONCLUSIONS: This work was only possible by leveraging both the university's technology/research resources and the clinical expertise of the NICU staff and PPC. Co-authored presentations, publications and grant funding continued this NICU's legacy in family-centred care and helped shape the clinical-academic nurse's career. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Clinical-academic partnerships can promote excellence in nursing practice, research and education through swifter knowledge translation and earlier infusion of implementation science principles into the development of evidence-based nursing interventions.

Adapting the telephone assessment and skill-building kit to the telehealth technology preferences of stroke family caregivers.

Family caregivers exhibit a wide variety of needs and concerns while providing care to stroke survivors after discharge to the home setting. We report the results of two related studies utilizing a multimethod design in which stroke family caregivers (N = 12; N = 10) were interviewed using open-ended questions, followed by written caregiver ratings regarding the types of telehealth technologies they preferred for the telephone assessment and skill-building kit (TASK III). Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis procedures with a provisional "start list" of codes in a matrix template based on the types of telehealth technologies in the rating forms. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze ratings with response scales ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Average ratings for the telehealth technologies for the TASK III resource guide were obtained for the mailed hard copy binder (M = 3.58-4.13; SD = 0.35-1.00), an interactive website (https://www.task3web.com/; M = 3.86-4.17; SD = .72-1.07), an eBook (M = 3.17-3.67; SD = 0.84-1.17), and a USB drive (M = 3.75-4.00; SD = .82-.96). Average ratings for the telehealth technologies for the TASK III calls with the nurse were obtained for the use of a telephone (M = 4.36-5.00; SD = 0.00-0.89), FaceTime on an iOS device (e.g., iPhone or iPad; M = 3.73-4.40; SD = 0.79-0.98), or online videoconferencing (M = 3.17-3.50; SD = 0.82-1.47). Qualitative data revealed a wide variety of preferences for each type of telehealth technology, with advantages and disadvantages of each. The findings underscored the importance of offering multiple telehealth technology options to stroke family caregivers. Future studies are recommended that employ randomized control trial methodology to test theoretically-based interventions that are based on stroke family caregiver preferences for telehealth technologies.

Anesthesia Simulation in Cardiac Surgery (ASICS).

Nurse anesthesia programs are stressful, with routine information overload, immersion into new environments, and financial stressors. One strategy to combat this stress is to practice clinical skills in the less intimidating and safe environment of simulation. Evidence strongly suggests that simulation is an important component of a well-rounded nurse anesthesia program. However, no simulation literature was found to assist the transition of student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) into their cardiac anesthesia rotations. The purpose of this evidence-based practice improvement project was to create an open-heart surgery simulation that supplemented the cardiac curriculum of second-year SRNAs, in order to improve self-efficacy prior to their cardiac clinical rotation. Twenty-three SRNAs, enrolled in a nurse anesthesia doctorate of nursing practice program, participated in the anesthesia simulation in cardiac surgery. After the students' anesthesia simulation experience, they shared in a debriefing session and completed a survey-based evaluation. When SRNAs were asked their level of agreement to the statement "I am confident that I am developing the skills and obtaining the required knowledge from this simulation to perform necessary tasks in a clinical setting," the mean score was 4.61, with 5 indicating strongly agree. Overall, SRNAs agreed that skills they learned in the simulation would transfer to their cardiac rotation.