Innovative Opportunities for Civility: Professional Development in a Time of COVID-19

The use of mobile technology to support work integrated learning in undergraduate nursing programs: An integrative review

OBJECTIVES

Investigate the use of mobile technology to support Work Integrated Learning in undergraduate nursing programs.

DESIGN

Integrative review with narrative synthesis.

DATA SOURCES

Electronic databases searched in February 2021 included CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE and APA PsychInfo.

REVIEW METHODS

The methodological framework described by Whittemore and Knafl (2005) guided this integrative review. A total of five (5) studies published between 2017 and 2020 were analysed and synthesised.

RESULTS

Data was categorised into two themes: 1) Accessibility of Learning Resources, and 2) Effective and Timely Communication. Convenient and easy access to Learning Resources at the point of care improved students' confidence and competence to perform clinical skills, thereby reducing student's anxiety and increasing satisfaction rates. The accessibility to educational and skills-based resources also promoted patient safety at the point of care. Effective and Timely Communication improved engagement and collaboration between students, clinical facilitators and academics, enabling a more supportive environment that improved student autonomy and motivation for self-directed learning. The Effective and Timely Communication of student progression and assessment strategies was found to improve student engagement and motivation to be independent learners.

CONCLUSION

This review contributes important knowledge because internationally there is a need to increase knowledge and understanding of how to best support Work Integrated Learning experiences of student nurses. Mobile technology has been recognised as an innovative tool in education, further research investigating its use to support Work Integrated Learning in undergraduate nursing programs is required.

Constructing an Online Sustainable Educational Model in COVID-19 Pandemic Environments

The outbreak of COVID-19 forced billions of learners to stay at home in order to receive online education. The aim of the study is to construct an online sustainable educational model to facilitate this learning approach. This study included 53 peer-reviewed articles for the review study following the selection process of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocol (PRISMA-P) and the clustering techniques of VOSviewer. It is concluded that the model consists of online educational platforms, online assessment systems, social media, and digital literacy. With these features, online education could be sustained. However, challenges should also be addressed to sustain online education during the pandemic. Designers, scientists, and teachers should make every effort to increase learning engagement, enhance learning supervision, formulate adequate emergency programs, minimize educational inequalities, solve technical issues, and formulate systematic learning management and organization. The sustainable online educational model may be updated and perfected by including more practical features in the future.

2021: The Year in Review

This year was a challenge in so many ways! Yet, it offered nursing professional development practitioners opportunities to think creatively and collaboratively while implementing new and better ways of delivering education and professional development. This column looks at some of the more notable events of 2021 and how they impacted education and professional development. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(12):545-548.].

Adapting Civility Education in an Academic-Practice Partnership

BACKGROUND

Incivility results in nurse burnout, decreased job performance, and decreased patient safety. Leaders of an academic-practice partnership developed educational activities promoting organizational civility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this article is to describe an educational activity about civility that was transitioned to a virtual platform and participants' comfort engaging in and responding to incivility.

METHOD

Face-to-face education was converted to a synchronous online event, supporting 75 nurses, nursing students, and other health care professionals in attendance. Activities consisted of cognitive rehearsal techniques, breakout rooms, simulation videos, group debriefs, and panel discussions delivered via Zoom and Mentimeter software.

RESULTS

Workplace Civility Index results were significantly different from pretest to post-test. Seventy-two percent of participants were not comfortable gossiping about others, but only 30% were comfortable responding to incivility.

CONCLUSION

Promoting civility awareness through a virtual education platform using cognitive rehearsal techniques and reflection can provide support for current and future nurses. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(12):575-580.].

Transitioning Professional Development Classes to Virtual Instruction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated shifts in education delivery, forcing professional development specialists toward alternative learning delivery methods. Members of an academic-practice partnership at a Midwestern hospital collaboratively designed virtual evidence-based education modules for staff onboarding. We describe the transition from in-person education to online professional development. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(9):404-406.].