Understanding faculty perspectives of supports and barriers to interprofessional collaboration within a clinical scholars program: A qualitative study.

AIM: This study explores the faculty perspective of an interprofessional clinical scholars program to identify recommendations for strengthening team collaboration between academia and clinical practice. BACKGROUND: Interprofessional evidence-based practice, pairing higher education and clinical practice, is a critical part of nursing education. DESIGN: This qualitative study consisted of two phases of participant engagement, in both data collection and data analysis. METHODS: Specifically, faculty participated in a focus group discussion followed by a card sort of initial codes. RESULTS: The major themes identified are Unifying the Team and Navigating Layers of Challenge, encompassing concepts of teamwork and programmatic context that supported or disrupted interprofessional collaboration. This study affirms the importance of role clarity, connectedness, intentionality and continuity within clinical teams. Moreover, faculty identified barriers to teamwork based on workload, leadership turnover and constraining environmental forces. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for effective teamwork in an interprofessional setting will strengthen future collaboration between higher education and clinical settings.

Identifying Fall Prevention Content in Graduate Healthcare Curricula.

ISSUE: An interprofessional team-based approach to fall prevention is advocated to address the public health issue of fall-related injuries. The purpose of this study was to analyze fall-related curricular content across graduate physician assistant, nursing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy healthcare programs. METHODS: The research team conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of fall risk, assessment, and intervention content in graduate program textbooks, curricular narrative, and course objectives. OUTCOME: The four curricular themes identified were universal fall risks, varied assessments, discipline-based interventions, and minimal interprofessional approaches. All curricula universally covered fall risks. Curricular coverage of fall assessment varied by discipline. The physician assistant and nursing curricula focused on assessing fall risk and safety, while the occupational and physical therapy covered standardized functional assessments. The disciplines of physical and occupational therapy provided curricular instruction in restorative or compensatory interventions. All curricula included the interventions of patient and caregiver education and environmental modifications. Curricular coverage of an interprofessional approach to fall prevention was minimal. CONCLUSION: This study identified universal fall risks, varied fall assessments, and discipline-based fall interventions across four graduate healthcare curricula. There was minimal evidence of education in an interprofessional approach to fall prevention.

Rehabilitation Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors for Preventing Urinary Tract Infections From Intermittent Catheterization.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop and examine the reliability of a survey to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) of rehabilitation nurses for preventing urinary tract infections in persons requiring intermittent catheterization. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with principal component analysis. METHODS: Survey development and administration based on national guidelines. FINDINGS: Principal component analysis produced three reliable components of KAB explaining 54.5% of response variance. Results indicate that nurses report adequate knowledge and training. Although the facility had an evidence-based online catheterization procedure, staff reported that the procedure was not helpful nor useable. Twenty-eight percent incorrectly identified the root cause of urinary tract infection, and 45% reported that other nurses always washed their hands. Barriers to using standard intermittent catheterization technique were staff, time, and patient variables. CONCLUSION: The modified survey is a reliable measure of KAB. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The survey assists with identifying knowledge gaps, customizing education, and changing practice.