Design, implementation and evaluation of novel work-based clinical assessment tool: An e-portfolio with embedded Entrustable Professional Activities

Effects of game-based learning integrated with the self-regulated learning strategy on nursing students' entrustable professional activities: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

In the field of nursing education, the expertise and knowledge required to perform Leopold's Maneuvers are critical, forming an integral part of Entrustable Professional Activities for nursing students. As a result, mastering Leopold's Maneuvers has become a core component of nursing education. Despite this, the prevailing didactic methods in many nursing courses tend to limit interactive and contextual learning experiences, which can hinder students' ability to engage deeply with the subject matter. This lack of engagement may subsequently affect both the effectiveness of students' learning and students' clinical judgment capacity, essential elements in the competencies of Entrustable Professional Activities.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental design was employed in this study, involving a total of 55 nursing university students, with 28 participants in the experimental group and 27 in the control group. The research incorporated game-based learning integrated with the self-regulated learning strategy, and employed a pretest, posttest, and questionnaires to assess students' learning performance, self-efficacy, and learning motivation. The experimental group participated in game-based learning with the self-regulated learning strategy, whereas the control group experienced game-based learning without the integration of self-regulated learning. Learning performance was analyzed using an independent samples t-test, while Analysis of Covariance was employed to compare the self-efficacy and learning motivation of the two groups.

RESULTS

The findings showed that the integration of game-based learning with the self-regulated learning strategy can significantly improve students' learning performance, self-efficacy, and learning motivation.

CONCLUSION

As an integral part of Entrustable Professional Activities, Leopold's Maneuvers were integrated into an interactive game-based learning environment, coupled with the self-regulated learning strategy in nursing education. This approach aimed at cultivating core competencies among nursing students. This study has demonstrated its efficacy in engaging students effectively, serving as a dynamic resource for immersive learning in Leopold's Maneuvers, aligning well with the design considerations for promoting Entrustable Professional Activities in nursing education.

[Design of a nursing assessment instrument during pregnancy monitoring in Primary Health care and the validation of its content]

OBJECTIVE

This research aims to develop a nursing assessment tool, based on Gordon's Health Functional Patterns, through a content validation by a committee of experts, applying a Delphi technique.

DESIGN

An assessment instrument with 53 items has been designed. SITE: It is carried out within the framework of a doctoral thesis, for its implementation by midwives of Primary Health Care.

PARTICIPANTS

The committee was made up of 16 professionals with a hide clinical, teaching and research experience who all participated in the entire validation process.

INTERVENTION

It has been assessed as a whole and in each of the items through four rounds of consultations, establishing a positive assessment of more than 60% to accept each item, as well as incorporating the suggestions provided by the committee. The final version had to reach a unanimous consensus.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS

All items were accepted with a score higher than 60%.

RESULTS

There were no contradictions between the inputs provided by the experts, so all of them were integrated into the final version that has a 100% approval by the committee.

CONCLUSION

After this process, a new assessment tool is presented to be applied by primary care midwives in the pregnancy monitoring. The questionnaire has been piloted with 50 pregnant women, determining the most prevalent nursing diagnoses, establishing the workload for the midwife of her implementation of individualized care plans to improve some health indicators of pregnant women.

Development and evaluation of Entrustable Professional Activities embedded in an e-portfolio for work-based assessment in community and public health dietetics

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) is a recent concept that helps operationalise competency-based education. In this paper, we report on the development of EPAs and incorporation into an e-portfolio for work-based assessment of final year dietetics students in a community and public health professional placement. We aimed to determine the utility of the EPAs for work-based assessment in this context. We used action research methodology to conduct broad consultation with students and supervisors using anonymous surveys and focus groups to understand their beliefs and attitudes towards work-based assessment. Consequently, 40 EPAs with an accompanying four-point entrustment scale were developed and mapped to the National Competency Standards for Dietitians in Australia. The EPAs and assessment tool were piloted and evaluated via an anonymous online user survey across three cohorts of students (n = 133) and supervisors (n = 67). Following mediocre pilot year evaluation results, EPAs were revised and reduced in number. While students positively evaluated the e-portfolio, their appraisal of the EPAs and entrustment scale was less positive compared to supervisors. Supervisor evaluation of the EPA-based e-portfolio supported the validity, feasibility and acceptability of this novel assessment method in a community and public health setting. Assessment using EPAs, and the resulting educational data collected by the tool, offers potential for individual learners to identify areas needing development during placement, as well as potential to inform curriculum improvements and increase understanding of learning opportunities and outcomes for dietetic students in community and public health settings.

Entrustable professional activities in nursing education: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Entrustable professional activities were introduced in medical education more than 15 years ago. EPAs define units of professional practice that can be fully entrusted to sufficiently competent professionals. Today, EPAs have been developed and implemented in many health professions, as the concept is useful in bridging the gap between competency-based education and the daily tasks health professions have to deal with in the workplace. While some evidence exists in medical education, the role of EPAs in nursing education is not yet fully understood. Therefore, the overall aim of this scoping review is to describe the current body of evidence regarding EPA implementation in nursing education.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A two-stage screening process will be used during the search phase, in order to screen retrieved abstracts and titles that focus primarily on the discussion of EPA in nursing education in all languages within the last two decades. The electronic databases, OVID (Embase and PubMed combined) and EBSCOhost (CINHAL and ERIC combined), as well as grey literature will be searched. The search period ranges from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2021. Data will be extracted according to study design, context (geographical location and type of nursing programme), details of EPAs mentioned (title, specifications, limitations and competency domains), as well as evidence of implementation, outcomes and effect sizes.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required as this review will be using previously collected data. Review findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at scientific conferences.

Implementing an entrustable professional activities programmatic assessments for nurse practitioner training in emergency care: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs), as new methods used to operationalize competency-based education, are gaining acceptance in medical professions. However, no EPA-based framework exists to evaluate emergency care nurse practitioners' competencies in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES

To develop, implement, and evaluate an EPA-based framework for emergency care nurse practitioners.

DESIGN

Prospective observational study.

SETTING

An accredited nurse practitioner training program in the emergency department of a University-affiliated Hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Eight novice nurse practitioners and eighteen clinical instructors.

METHODS

A working group of academic educators, nurse practitioner leaders, and clinical instructors developed a set of EPAs using a participatory design method. We scheduled weekly ad hoc evaluations for the nurse practitioners in emergency care, and we collected several observations from multiple assessors for analysis.

RESULTS

Four nested EPAs were developed that adopted a 1-5 supervision-entrustment scale to measure performance. The results of the 20-month assessments illustrated that the average scores of EPA1, which measured the assessment and management of patients with acute medical presentations in the emergency department, differed significantly but were not positively correlated with the nurse practitioners' increasing subspecialty and department seniority levels (Kruskal-Wallis test P = .011 and 0.006, respectively). In addition, the most time required for the nurse practitioners to achieve a stable level 5 entrustability score for all EPAs for at least 3 consecutive months was 18 months. Clinical instructors noted that recognizing limits is a skill that is essential for a nurse practitioner to earn clinical instructors' trust.

CONCLUSIONS

Entrustability scores may not correlate with nurse practitioners' increasing seniority, and patient care requires the longest training time (18 months) for emergency care nurse practitioners to achieve autonomy. Program directors should adjust the supervision-entrustment level expected at various stages of training according to the complexity of individual EPAs. An EPA-based assessment framework in a nurse practitioner training program may assist in overseeing the development of competencies for emergency care nurse practitioners.