Interprofessional Perspectives in Graduate Level Falls Prevention Education

Valinda Pearson, Professor of Nursing, received $5,812 to conduct a qualitative study with entry-level graduate students at St. Catherine University (Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS), Masters of Science in Nursing – Entry Level (MSNEL), Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy (MAOT)) at the completion of their program of study within 3 months prior to graduation. Current students are the healthcare workforce of the future. While it is important to encourage collaboration amongst professionals currently working in the field, it is equally (if not more) important to educate the future generation of healthcare workers to excel in interprofessional collaborative practice. Post-secondary, professional education programs are responsible for educating healthcare students in falls prevention to meet the needs of our aging population. It is critical that faculty from different graduate healthcare departments assess how their curricular goals on fall prevention intersect and unite to understand each other’s pedagogy around falls prevention. Exploring the intersection between professional approaches will identify opportunities for inter-professional education across curriculums. Little research has been done exploring how and to what extent falls prevention content is covered in different curricula. The researchers involved in this study are included in ongoing work examining falls prevention across professional education

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

Unitary Human Caring Science Embodied in an AHNA Endorsed Holistic Nursing Curriculum

This presentation addresses how Unitary Human Caring Science (UHCS) is expressed throughout a hybrid pre-licensure Bachelor of Science (BSN) nursing program. UHCS emerged from harmonic coherence of the theoretical works of Rogers (1970,1992), Newman (1994), Smith (1992), and Watson (2008, 2012). The faculty added the word “human” to emphasize the lived experience of caring within nursing situations. Additional curricular influences were holistic nursing perspectives, quantum physics, complexity science, and indigenous wisdom. Input from multicultural partners was elicited throughout curriculum development. This theoretical framework is explicated by concepts central to the focus of the discipline of nursing as described by Newman, Smith, Pharris, and Jones (2008). In addition to the aforementioned, six National League for Nursing Integrating Concepts (NLN, 2010) form the foundational structure of the curriculum. Coupled with the lived experience and professional practice of nurse educators, clinicians and other outside advisors, the praxis of nursing is revealed. This curriculum received endorsement as an academic holistic nursing program by the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC) fall 2018. Endorsement attests to the distinction of this program and provides an opportunity for graduates to sit for the holistic nursing credentialing exam upon successful completion of the RN licensure exam. UHCS is suffused in didactic, lab, simulation, and clinical opportunities throughout the entire student educational experience. Holistic approaches are explored alongside practices of Western medicine. Contemplative practices, including meditation and other self-care approaches, are fostered to develop resilience and compassion for self and others. Students develop caritas literacy, the enhanced awareness and perception of caring in human environments, through reflections, self-assessments, peer critiques, written and verbal assignments, and nursing skill evaluations. Examples of these components are included in the student’s e-portfolio summative assignment. A sampling of these tools along with a depiction of the curriculum structure will be presented for dialogue

Improving resident outcomes with GAPN organization level interventions

This research tested the effectiveness of the second tier of interventions in a two-tiered nursing intervention model designed to improve quality of care for residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The first tier of the model called for gerontological advanced practice nurses (GAPNs) to provide direct care and to teach staff to implement care protocols for residents with inconti-nence, pressure ulcers, depression, and aggression. Results of the first-tier study indicated sig-nificant improvement in resident outcomes in incontinence, pressure ulcers, and aggression. In the second tier, GAPNs added a set of organization-level (OL) interventions including member-ship on the LTCF quality assurance committee and collaborating with staff on problem-solving teams. Analysis following the addition of OL interventions revealed significant improvement in both depression scores and in the trajectory of depression in residents of the LTCF where OL interventions were used