Introducing Perioperative Nursing as a Foundation for Clinical Practice.

This article describes one school's experience in providing a perioperative nursing course as a first clinical course in a bachelor of science in nursing curriculum. This innovation reframes the perspective on perioperative nursing from that of an elective clinical specialty that is not essential to basic nursing education to a practice setting that provides key foundational clinical learning experiences for the novice nursing student. A strong academic-practice partnership; effective preparation for key stakeholders including nursing staff members, preceptors, and students; and collaboration with AORN were essential elements in the success of this clinical learning innovation. We describe learning outcomes, lessons learned, and future plans for enhancing and expanding this course.

Educational competencies and technologies for disaster preparedness in undergraduate nursing education: an integrative review.

OBJECTIVES: This integrative review of literature was conducted to determine (1) what are the suitable disaster preparedness competencies for undergraduate nursing curriculum? and (2) what are the suitable methods of instruction to deliver disaster preparedness content? DATA SOURCES AND REVIEW METHOD: A literature search was conducted on three major electronic databases: Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed and the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) using the keywords; Disaster Preparedness, Disaster and nursing education; disaster response and nursing education. Limiters used were published within the last 10 years and in nursing field. Out of the 190 articles retrieved, eight were research articles that met the inclusion criteria. These articles were carefully reviewed and the results are summarized in two sections to answer the research questions. RESULTS AND FINDINGS: There was no uniformity of intended competencies among the studies, though all studies used resources from reputed national and international organizations. All the studies reviewed adhered to a systematic approach in delivering content and used eclectic methods including multiple technologies to enhance the educational outcomes. Most of the studies had incorporated simulation in different ways involving low to high fidelity simulators, virtual simulation and live actors. Content and length of the programs were greatly varied but stayed focused on the general principles of disaster management and appropriate for the level of the students within the programs. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: More rigorous research is needed in this area since all published articles had deficiencies in the methodologies, especially in data collection and analysis. Disaster preparedness education was found to be a suitable activity for interprofessional education.

Successful debriefing - best methods to achieve positive learning outcomes: a literature review.

The past several years have seen a dramatic increase in the use of simulation in nursing education. The process of debriefing, or guided reflection, follows these simulation activities. Although facilitated debriefing is recommended in the simulation literature, very few research articles reported results of the effectiveness of debriefing. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, ERIC, and PsychInfo to identify articles and studies examining simulation and debriefing methods. A limited number of studies were found, that examined traditional faculty facilitated debriefing versus alternate forms of debriefing, debriefing versus no debriefing, and perceptions of debriefing. In most cases, improvement was noted in learners regardless of the debriefing process used. This review is grouped in two sections: (a) studies comparing debriefing strategies and (b) studies examining perceptions of the usefulness of debriefing.

Health care partnerships: a literature review of interdisciplinary education.

Interdisciplinary education is an excellent teaching model for nursing and other health care professions students. When one considers that nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals must work together in the same environment, it seems feasible that learning together through allocated learning activities as an interdisciplinary group might enhance educational outcomes. According to the literature, interdisciplinary education fosters collaboration and teamwork among the health care team. In addition, anecdotal comments from nursing students indicate that they feel unprepared to communicate with other health care disciplines. Although there is an abundance of articles related to interdisciplinary education, few studies of student outcomes have been conducted. This article provides an overview of interdisciplinary education studies with nursing and other health professions students.

A regional partnership to promote nursing instructor competence and confidence in simulation.

Clinical simulation is an innovative, research-based instructional strategy, and many faculty report not being adequately prepared to use this type of teaching strategy. Instructors in both academia and hospital staff development report reluctance to incorporate this new teaching methodology into the curriculum because they have negative attitudes about their own level of competence and confidence in using the simulators with students. Instructors clearly require training to help them understand the pedagogy, educational theory, and effective use of high-fidelity manikins. To promote simulation as a teaching strategy, a partnership was formed between academia (associate degree in nursing/bachelor of science in nursing) and staff development departments to train their instructors in an efficient, effective, and timely manner. This article describes a regional academic partnership between nursing programs and service partners in a 13-county region in the Texas Gulf Coast that used a train-the-trainer model and other activities to promote the use of simulation.

Photography as an adjunct in pressure ulcer documentation.

Documentation of pressure ulcers requires accuracy and thorough information in order for providers to prescribe treatment. Frequently, documentation among providers is inconsistent and can lead to a delay in proper treatment of the ulcer. Photography, used as an adjunct in documentation, can alleviate the inconsistencies and improve the care of pressure ulcers.