Educating Mental Health Nurse Practitioners on Interprofessional Collaboration and Preparing Them for Collaborative Practice.

BACKGROUND: Although interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has been discussed for over 40 years, in nursing education as well as the majority of health professionals, education continues to primarily take place in silos with curricula that is discipline specific. Educators need to implement models of education that are linked to collaborative practice and team-based care. OBJECTIVES: To introduce the principles from the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioners Faculties Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies into the coursework. To demonstrate an application process for incorporating collaboration in their future nurse practitioner roles. METHOD: Students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice mental health nurse practitioner program participated in a set of assignments to develop essential knowledge and skills for integration of IPC into practice. A pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate student attitudes towards IPC following immersion in IPC subject matter and experiential learning with other healthcare providers working together to coordinate patient care. RESULTS: There were significant findings for six of the 18 survey questions. This project can serve as an example for successful implementation of IPE in the nursing curricula.

"We're Still Here": A Photovoice Study of Mothers' Perspectives 6 Years after the Flint Michigan Water Contamination Event.

Purpose: This study explored the lived experiences of pregnant and parenting women after the water contamination event in Flint, Michigan (Flint Water Contamination Event [FWCE]), by helping them visualize their everyday challenges, assets, and family health concerns. Methods: The photovoice methodology was utilized in this study. Individual participants met with researchers to discuss their photos using the SHOWeD method. Researchers analyzed the photographs, accompanying narratives, and discussion session transcripts using descriptive coding and thematic analysis. Results: Data analysis revealed five themes: (1) having a healthy pregnancy and well children is a central concern in everyday life, (2) children serve as social and practical resources for family, (3) meeting children's need for safe water is a significant concern, (4) the community and its households battle to get safe affordable water, and (5) there are resources available in the community to support mothers. Conclusion: While much information is still being collected and published in the aftermath of the FWCE, this study was the first to use the photovoice method to allow pregnant and parenting women to express their concerns about how the FWCE continues to affect the health and care of their families.

Improving Palliative Care Conversations Through Targeted Education and Mentorship.

Health care provider communication proficiency is critical in the initiation and revisitation of these discussions throughout the trajectory of chronic illness. The delivery of palliative care (PC) throughout the continuum of illness has traditionally been underutilized. Nurses have the ability to significantly improve PC utilization through the use of advance care planning strategies to confidently initiate conversations with patients and families at multiple points throughout the continuum of illness. Nurses are uniquely positioned to contribute to the improvement of care provided to terminally and chronically ill patients because of the relationship developed and the knowledge of patient-specific disease progression that unfolds during the time spent with patients. In this study, nurses improved communication efficacy by learning to utilize advance care planning-specific interview strategies inclusive of scripting and cued language when initiating PC conversations. The preintervention/postintervention confidence levels of nurses in initiating early PC conversations significantly increased to improve the delivery of PC to patients.

Development and evaluation of an interprofessional seminar pilot course to enhance collaboration between health professions at a student-run clinic for underserved populations.

This report describes the development and evaluation of an interprofessional pilot course aimed at health science students. The course was developed through collaboration of three health professions: Dentistry, Kinesiology, and Pharmacy. The coursework comprised of traditional lecture-based learning, interprofessional experiential education through four on-site visits at two area clinics that participate in team-based care, four student self-reflections following each site visit, and demonstration of interprofessional education and collaboration (IPEC) competencies through student evaluation of current interprofessional care at those existing clinics with a component for key improvement intervention. The study aims include evaluating both the course's effectiveness and quality in increasing student preparedness for interprofessional practice and its ability to enhance collaboration between health professions at two area clinics. Methods of evaluation include the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) instrument, pre- and post- course surveys, and course evaluation survey. The results show that students felt their knowledge and skills increased across the four IPEC core competency domains: interprofessional communication, values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, and team and teamwork. We suggest that using an integrated course framework is an effective measure in enhancing interprofessional education (IPE) outcomes.

Increasing influenza vaccination acceptance in the homeless: A quality improvement project.

The US homeless population is predisposed to serious complications of influenza with increased likelihood of hospitalization and death. This quality improvement project sought to increase influenza vaccination in the homeless population of a rural area in the Midwest and improve provider knowledge of risks and preventive care responsibilities.

Evaluation of Doctor of Nursing Practice Students' Competencies in an Online Informatics Course.

BACKGROUND: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs have experienced rapid growth across the United States. With the expansion of electronic health records, DNP students are expected to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to manage data and apply informatics concepts. However, little information exists to help faculty evaluate student competency in these areas. METHOD: This retrospective analysis evaluated the competencies of a convenience sample of DNP students enrolled in an online informatics course. Two areas were assessed in this study: acquisition of informatics skills, and analysis or application of informatics concepts. RESULTS: Regarding informatics skills, postbaccalaureate students performed better than post-master's students. In analysis and application of informatics concepts, post-master's students performed better than postbaccalaureate students. CONCLUSION: Different educational strategies may need to be created to meet the varying needs of postbaccalaureate and post-master's students in DNP programs. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(6):364-367.].

An Intervention to Improve Cultural Competence in Graduate Nursing Education.

Noting the small number of studies on the influence of an entire curriculum on graduate nursing students' cultural competence, the researchers examined the effect of a curricular intervention using a pretest-posttest design. The study, conducted from 2012 to 2014, focused solely on the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at a midwestern university. Results from a pre- and postintervention faculty curriculum survey indicated that the percentage of courses including a cultural competence objective increased from 65 percent to 81 percent. Results from the pre- and postintervention administration of the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool showed a statistically significant improvement in students' overall score and three subscale scores.

A Pilot Study to Assess a Teaching Intervention to Improve Sleep-Wake Disturbances in Parents of Children Diagnosed With Epilepsy.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of screening and teaching interventions for sleep-wake disturbances in parents of childhood patients with epilepsy. METHODS: This was a prospective, descriptive study using convenience sampling. After informed consent was obtained from eligible parents who agreed to participate, study questionnaires were administered. All parents were provided with an individualized teaching intervention. Study tools were readministered 8-12 weeks later to evaluate if the individualized teaching intervention altered or improved sleep-wake disturbances. RESULTS: The t value for the paired t test of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale prescore and postscore was 0.000 with a two-tailed probability value of 1.000, and the t value for the paired t test of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index prescore and postscore was 0.713 with a two-tailed probability value of .492, indicating no significant difference between pre and post Epworth Sleepiness Scale or Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. CONCLUSIONS: A sleep hygiene teaching intervention for parents of children with epilepsy was not effective in this setting of an inner-city epilepsy monitoring unit in changing postintervention scores on measures of both nighttime sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. These results must be interpreted with caution secondary to the small number included in the initial phase of this study. A larger number of participants will be needed to verify these findings. If the results remain consistent with a larger number, studies evaluating variables of cause may be helpful to determine more effective interventions.