An Innovative Academic/Practice Partnership to Support Nursing Workforce Needs and Student Clinical Education.

ABSTRACT: Innovation is needed to solve nursing workforce issues during times of crisis. A collaborative effort between a hospital system and several universities resulted in the Bridge to Professional Practice Program that was implemented during a period of high patient volume and nursing student downtime. The program provided support for staffing needs and clinical hours to promote readiness for practice for students. The program evaluation outcomes and recommendations for improvement are addressed.

Reimagining a children's palliative care educational programme for registered nurses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Children with life-limiting conditions are a unique population with multiple health and social care needs. Key literature indicates the need for education to support registered nurses providing care, including palliative care, to these children. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a palliative care programme was converted to an online programme, adopting a blended approach between national and regional facilitators. OBJECTIVES: To assess nurses' satisfaction with a re-designed palliative care programme centred around the care of children with life-limiting conditions, including their perceptions of the online format. DESIGN AND METHODS: A descriptive correlational design and online survey was used to explore the participants' perception of the content and online delivery of the Care of the Child with a Life-Limiting Condition programme. Nine sessions, comprised of five national and four regional webinars, were delivered. RESULTS: Attendees registered (n = 169) from throughout the Republic of Ireland, with 130 attending all webinars. Attendees stated online delivery of education increased their accessibility to highly qualified experts. The short, concise nature of sessions was well received. Online delivery and recorded sessions contributed to convenience with the ability to access and process information in attendees' own time being welcomed. However, the negative impact of losing face-to-face interactions was noted, including the opportunity to build relationships with colleagues caring for children with life-limiting conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the redesigned online programme contributed to participants' knowledge, encouraged participation and increased accessibility. An e-Learning model enables specialised education to be more equitable and accessible, ensuring regional areas are not disadvantaged due to geographical remoteness from tertiary educational centres. However, the lack of face-to-face contact was acknowledged as a hindrance to socialisation and networking. When developing future programmes, focus should be put on creating opportunities for networking and social development to compensate for the lack of face-to-face contact.

Perinatal depression screening: Improving outcomes during COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Recommendations for social distancing and avoidance of mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic have correlated with increased depressive symptoms in some individuals, such as loss of interest in daily activities, sleeplessness, or sadness. Perinatal depression screening using established, validated tools can aid with early diagnosis, guide management strategies, and optimize outcomes for pregnant women and their families. Identifying at-risk patients early in pregnancy and implementing a plan of care with appropriate mental health resources such as counseling or therapy have been shown to decrease clinical depression by more than 40%.

Impact of COVID-19 on New Graduate Nurses' Transition to Practice: Loss or Gain?

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted nursing education and required modification of instructional methods and clinical experiences. Given the variation in education, rapid transition to virtual platforms, and NCLEX-RN testing stressors, this cohort faced unique losses and gains influencing their transition into clinical practice. PURPOSE: This study examined the impact of COVID-19 and preparedness for professional practice of 340 new graduate nurses (NGNs) at an academic medical center. METHODS: This was a mixed-methods descriptive study focusing on how clinical experience loss or gains in the final semester affected the fears, concerns, and recommendations for NGNs. RESULTS: More than half (67.5%, n = 295) of NGNs reported changes to clinical experiences, ranging from 0 to 240 hours transitioned to virtual (n = 187; median, 51; interquartile range, 24-80). NGNs fear missing important details or doing something wrong in providing patient care. They identified the need for preceptor support, guidance, teaching, and continued practice of skills. CONCLUSION: Recommendations are clear communication with leadership, advocacy from the nurse residency program, and targeted clinical and emotional support for NGNs.

Graduate Nurse Transition Programs Pivotal Point of Participants' Practice Readiness Questioned During the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic requires an accessible, practice-ready nursing workforce to assist with the increase in health service delivery. Graduate nurse transition programs are the entry point for most graduates into professional practice, and this review focused on both empirical studies and gray literature to identify at what point practice readiness occurs and what can assist graduate nurses' transition to become practice ready. METHOD: A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review framework. RESULTS: Consensus purports supportive environments, ideally in formal structured graduate transition to practice programs, to enhance graduate nurses' clinical skills and confidence development. With nursing confidence and competence gained through professional practice experience, it is apparent that for a sustainable nursing workforce, greater access for graduating nurses to transition programs is imperative. CONCLUSION: Recommendations include restructuring transition programs with possible time reductions, limited rotations, comprehensive orientations inclusive of preceptorship, and dedicated educators to increase and enhance supportive graduate nurse transitions. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(8):392-396.].

Impact of a Digital Intervention on Perceived Stress, Resiliency, Social Support, and Intention to Leave Among Newly Licensed Graduate Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: The nursing shortage has been deemed a public health crisis as the turnover rate of newly licensed graduate nurses (NLGNs) continues to grow. One of five NLGNs are leaving the profession due to work dissatisfaction and feelings of inadequacy, risking patient safety. METHOD: A prospective, randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of a 6-week digital intervention (text messaging) on NLGNs' self-reported stress, resiliency, sense of support, and intention to leave their jobs, organization, and profession. Messages to the experimental group (n = 10) conveyed emotional, esteem, and networking support, and messages to the control group (n = 11) were medical facts. RESULTS: The digital intervention in the form of medical facts increased the control group's sense of social support. Stress, resilience, and intention to leave their jobs, organizations, or profession did not change for either the control or experimental group. CONCLUSION: A digital intervention, such as text messaging, potentially can increase NLGNs' sense of support during their first year of hire. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(8):367-374.].

Novel Pedagogical Training for Nursing Doctoral Students in Support of Remote Learning: A Win-Win Situation.

BACKGROUND: The need for faculty to educate prospective nurses is urgent: without sufficient nursing faculty, schools regularly reject qualified applicants, despite an increasing need for nurses. At the same time, many graduate-prepared nurses lack preparation in teaching and pedagogical frameworks. PROBLEM: Literature on how PhD programs in nursing prepare graduates for teaching indicates that there is typically more emphasis on research than pedagogical learning. APPROACH: With the shift to remote learning under the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of California Irvine created a Graduate Fellows program to provide support to faculty while offering graduate students education in pedagogy and remote learning. OUTCOMES: Fellows were satisfied and reported increased understanding of challenges in teaching and increasing comfort with nurse faculty roles. CONCLUSIONS: The collaborative efforts of fellows and faculty provided important resources at a critical time, and insights gained can inform similar projects in nursing faculty development.

Innovative approaches to teaching vascular access to nursing students in the COVID-19 era.

PURPOSE: For the student nurse, peripheral venous cannulation is one of the most stressful skills to be learned. Although some healthcare employers/establishments offer courses on vascular access and infusion nursing as part of their onboarding programs, ultimately educational institutions should share the responsibility to ensure that graduating nurses can provide safe infusion therapies. METHODS: An innovative vascular access and infusion nursing (VAIN) curriculum was created and mapped onto the entry to practice undergraduate nursing program at McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada. This presented an opportunity to implement new teaching approaches. RESULTS: Students experienced multiple new teaching approaches including multimedia and experiential learning and live simulation to ensure acquisition of knowledge and psychomotor skills. The teaching approaches had to be rapidly modified with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The VAIN curriculum emphasizes simulation and directed practice, seeking to increase competence, confidence, and knowledge. The pandemic underscored the need for flexibility and creativity in content delivery.

Developing and piloting a simulated placement experience for students.

COVID-19 and rising student numbers are affecting healthcare education, particularly access to clinical placements. As healthcare education is increasingly supported by technology and non-traditional teaching methods, educational experiences gained through clinical placement also require new approaches. This article explores and discusses the use of a simulated clinical placement for a dietetic student cohort. During this virtual placement, students were able to explore and experience a virtual clinical setting and immerse themselves in a placement experience. A vast range of virtual resources were linked to the online placement portal, including statutory and mandatory training, dietetic resources, patient journeys and interprofessional communication. Advantages of this approach include that all students experience a given situation, unlike in traditional placements where workloads, variety and engagement vary; there is also no risk to patient safety. The aim is to enhance the learning experience to create effective, efficient clinicians. This virtual placement for dietetics is part of a bigger project to develop and evaluate the use of a virtual placement framework in a range of professions. The concept of virtual placement may have been brought forward by the COVID-19 crisis but was inevitable with the move to more technology-enhanced learning tools.

Virtual Interprofessional Learning Due to COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated sweeping changes in a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) program's approach to distance-accessible learning. Prioritizing student learning and safety, we developed a new alternative model for individualized simulation. METHOD: The scenario created for a student to deliver an unexpected diagnosis of trisomy 21, or Down syndrome, to a postpartum mother was redesigned to take place using web-conference technology. RESULTS: We successfully transitioned the planned in-person individualized simulation for NNP students delivering an unexpected diagnosis to a web-conference environment and added nurse-midwifery (NM) students. CONCLUSION: This simulation presented an authentic clinical situation encountered in practice, supporting the specialty-specific competencies for the NNP, NM, and core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice. The web-conference platform is an effective strategy for simulation. Advanced practice nurses completing individualized simulation through technology are uniquely poised to leverage these skills as telemedicine increasingly influences their future clinical practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(6):346-351.].

The Nursing Professional Development Practitioner During a Pandemic: Achieving the Hat Trick.

The nursing professional development practitioner's call to action at a large, acute care academic facility during the novel coronavirus pandemic required adaptability and resiliency. When rapid, unprecedented challenges altered nursing professional development workflow, a department of 16 practitioners split into three teams. The teams achieved goals by meeting the demand for education and training of frontline staff during the surge in novel coronavirus patients.

Transition of a Collaborative In-Person Health Care Innovation Course to Online Learning.

BACKGROUND: As COVID-19 forced in-person courses to transition online, an active learning course focused on design thinking in health and health care embraced the challenge. Lessons learned, mistakes made, and thoughts on the future of online education in nursing are discussed. METHOD: During the online transition, it was thought the flipped-classroom approach would transition well using the same design thinking methodology taught in the course. Because the course promoted rapid innovation and iteration, such a challenge served as a call to action, and the course became a valuable real-time case study. RESULTS: Based on student surveys, the overall quality of the transitioned course increased slightly compared with the previous semester's in-person course, indicating schools of nursing can innovate both the way students are taught as well as what students are taught. CONCLUSION: Rather than mourn the loss of in-person learning, the newfound possibilities of virtual education should celebrated. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(5):298-300.].

Clinical Nurse Specialist Impact on COVID-19 Preparation at a Military Treatment Facility.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly challenged healthcare organizations across the globe, forcing innovation, resourcefulness, and flexibility. The purpose of this article is to describe the impact of clinical nurse specialist practice on COVID-19 preparation at a military hospital. ENVIRONMENT OF CARE CHANGES: The pandemic required facilities to develop expansion plans to facilitate a potential surge of COVID-19 patients. Clinical nurse specialists collaborated to develop a plan to expand care capacity and streamline testing while designating specific critical care and medical-surgical areas for COVID-19 patients. STAFFING CONSIDERATIONS: To capitalize on the expanded bed capacity, clinical nurse specialists identified and trained outpatient nursing staff to serve as nurse extenders. DISCUSSION: Early in the pandemic, a lack of strong evidence-based interventions to mitigate transmission and treatment necessitated the development of innovative solutions. The clinical nurse specialist team established designated transport routes for COVID-19 patients, leveraged technology to improve methods of care, and cultivated a culture of innovation by providing on-the-spot meaningful recognition to staff. CONCLUSION: As leaders in healthcare, clinical nurse specialists are change agents that work to maintain high-quality, safe patient care even during a global pandemic.

When Crisis Strikes, Handle With CARE.

The decision to continue a career advancement program in midst of our health system's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was made after weighing the pros and cons. At a time when high priority was placed on educating the frontline nurses on rapidly changing protocols and supporting mental health, our organization reallocated resources and ways of doing things in order to maintain some form of normalcy. By doing so, we were able to demonstrate our commitment to professional development even in the face of adversity and highlight the resourcefulness of nursing professional development practitioners. As the COVID-19 crisis has laid bare, we live in an increasingly complex and interconnected world, and agility will be essential to future nursing professional development practice.