Experienced based co design: nursing preceptorship educational programme

Development of the EVIBEC Learning Outcomes Framework to support the delivery of evidence-based practice curricula in health care professional programmes: a codesign approach

BACKGROUND

All healthcare professional education programmes must adopt a systematic approach towards ensuring graduates achieve the competencies required to be an evidence-based practitioner. While a list of competencies for evidence-based practice exist, health care educators continue to struggle with effectively integrating the necessary competencies into existing curricula. The purpose of this project was to develop an open access cross-discipline, learning outcomes framework to support educators in integrating the teaching, learning and assessment required to ensure all graduates of health care professional programmes can achieve the necessary evidence-based practice competencies.

METHODS

An interdisciplinary team of health care professional educators and a librarian completed a review of the health professions literature on the teaching and assessment of evidence-based practice. The literature, coupled with the teams' collective experiences in evidence-based education and research, were used to identify relevant teaching, learning and evidence-based competency frameworks to inform the project design. The guide and toolkit for experience-based co-design developed by the National Health Service Institute for Innovation and Improvement was adopted for this study ( Institute for Innovation and Improvement: Experience Based Design: Guide & Tools In. Leeds: NHS; 2009.). A four-step approach involving three online participatory co-design workshops and a national validation workshop was designed. Students (n = 33), faculty (n = 12), and clinical educators (n = 15) participated in formulating and mapping learning outcomes to evidence-based competencies.

RESULTS

Through a rigorous, systematic co-design process the Evidenced-based Education Collaborative (EVIBEC) Learning Outcomes Framework was developed. This framework consists of a series of student-centred learning outcomes, aligned to evidence-based practice competencies, classified according to the 5 As of EBP and mapped to the cognitive levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Associated learning activities for each step of EBP are suggested.

CONCLUSIONS

A consensus-based, student-centred learning outcomes framework aligned to a contemporary set of EBP core competencies has been developed. The freely accessible EVIBEC framework may support entry level health care professional EBP education, by informing EBP curriculum development and offering the potential for interdisciplinary approaches to and sharing of valuable teaching and learning resources. Co-design proved an effective method in creating and refining this framework.

A digital educational resource to support and enhance effective mentorship practices of nursing students in nursing homes: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

There is a grooving body of evidence emphasising the need to support and enhance effective mentorship practices for nursing students in nursing home placements, including strengthening of the pedagogical competence of registered nurse mentors. Owing to the necessity for multifaceted mentoring competence and the challenges of workload registered nurses are facing, the use of flexible digital educational resources has been suggested. However, current knowledge on the effectiveness of digital educational resources in enhancing mentorship practices in nursing homes is scarce. This study aimed to explore the perception of registered nurse mentors regarding the effectiveness of a digital educational resource, particular its usability and value-in-use in supporting and enhancing mentorship practices in nursing homes.

METHODS

The study applied an exploratory descriptive qualitative design. Pre- and post-mentoring semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted among a total of 23 registered nurse mentors across three Norwegian nursing homes. The transcribed interviews were thematically analysed. Standards for reporting qualitative research were followed.

RESULTS

The analysis yielded one pre-mentoring theme: (1) predominant enthusiasm and satisfaction and three post-mentoring themes: (2) enhanced confidence and motivation, (3) enhanced mentoring competence in supporting the nursing students' learning process, and (4) factors influencing the value-in-use of the digital educational resource.

CONCLUSIONS

Digital educational resources support effective mentorship practices by enhancing the confidence and motivation in the mentor role and by enabling more goal-oriented supervision and assessment tailored to the learning goals of students. The implementation of digital educational resources to support and enhance effective mentorship practices is an important avenue for further research towards achieving high-quality learning environments in clinical nursing education in general and nursing homes. Based on the study findings, nursing educational institutions should consider offering digital educational resources to develop, support, and advance mentorship training, which may more effectively impact and improve the quality of clinical nursing education.

Key tips to providing a psychologically safe learning environment in the clinical setting

Having psychological safety embedded in preceptorship relationships facilitates positive interpersonal and educational experiences for students. Psychological safety refers to a student's belief as to whether or not it is safe for them to take interpersonal risks, such as asking questions, sharing an idea for improvement or speaking up to maintain patient safety. Having psychological safety leads to collaboration, positive student learning experiences and effective patient care. This article presents key guidelines for preceptors to provide a psychologically safe learning environment for their students. Guidelines fall under four categories 1) before meeting students, 2) first meeting students, 3) continued relationship with students, and 4) general rules. These guidelines are informed by current literature on psychological safety and preceptorship and the author's clinical expertise in nursing preceptorship. We conceptualise psychological safety in a nursing preceptorship for preceptors to denote the experience of inclusivity, empowerment, and well-being of students within the social, cultural and physical clinical learning environment. A crucial attribute to cultivating a psychologically safe environment involves being an accessible and approachable preceptor.