Cinemeducation: Teaching Family Assessment Skills Using Full‐Length Movies

A thorough family assessment provides a foundation for the nursing process when working with families. Therefore, nurses, along with other health care providers must develop expertise in conducting family assessments to provide the best possible care within the community. This article describes an innovative educational strategy using movies to teach family assessment skills and puts forth recommendations for future research to provide evidence to support this teaching modality.     

Embracing a Competency‐Based Specialty Curriculum for Community‐Based Nursing Roles

The Quad Council competencies for public health nursing (PHN) provide guidance in developing curricula at both the generalist and specialist level. However, these competencies are based on nursing roles in traditional public health agencies and community/public health is defined more broadly than official agency practice. The question arises as to whether community‐based specialties require largely the same knowledge and skill set as PHN. The purpose of the competency cross‐mapping project reported here was to (a) assess the intersection of the Quad Council competencies with four community‐based specialties and (b) ensure the appropriateness of a Quad Council‐based curriculum to prepare graduates across these four specialties (home health, occupational health, environmental health, and school nursing). This article details the multistep cross‐mapping process, including validation with practice leaders. Results indicate strong alignment of community‐based specialty competencies with Quad Council competencies. Community‐based specialty‐specific content that did not align well is identified, along with examples of didactic and clinical strategies to address gaps. This work indicates that a Quad Council‐based curriculum is appropriate to prepare graduates in community‐based specialties when attention to the specialty‐specific competencies in the clinical setting is included. This work guides the development of a doctorate of nursing practice curriculum in PHN, encompassing the four additional community‐based specialties.     

Diabetes foot self‐care practices in the German population

Aim. The object of this study was to find out which self‐care activities patients with diabetes perform to prevent diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) and to look for differences between patient groups (diabetes education and foot at risk). Background. Besides the importance of screening patients at risk to develop a DFS and the clinical interventions, it is also necessary to involve the patient with diabetes in the self‐care of their feet. There is no information in Germany concerning self‐care activities carried out by patients for the prevention of DFS. Design. A cross‐sectional study. Method. A secondary analysis of the data used in the study for the development of the ‘Frankfurter Catalogue of Foot Self‐Care – Prevention of Diabetic Foot Syndrome’. Two hundred and sixty‐nine patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were included. The study population was divided into different training experience groups and foot at risk groups based on self‐reported data. Results. Patients who had participated in more than three education programmes performed significantly better self‐care than patients who had no or only one training programme. Patients with a foot at risk for the development of diabetic foot ulcer perform more adequate self‐care regarding professional assistance in foot care, but are not more active in the self‐control of the feet, shoes and socks. Conclusions. There are self‐care deficits regarding self‐control of feet, shoes and socks. Based on the data it seems to be that more than three education programmes are needed to lead to performance of adequate self‐care. Especially patients with a foot at risk need more professional support for their daily self‐care activities to prevent DFS or further foot complications. Relevance to clinical practice. The first findings support that it might be helpful to identify patients with self‐care deficits and therefore to improve patients daily foot self‐care.     

Mental health‐related learning needs of clinicians working in Australian emergency departments: A national survey of self‐reported confidence and knowledge

Objective: To identify the mental health‐related learning needs of doctors and nurses working in Australian EDs. Methods: A purpose‐designed survey was developed, and face validity was verified by 12 doctors and nurses. A cross‐sectional survey of a national sample of nurses and senior doctors (registrars and consultants) working in EDs across Australia was then undertaken. The survey consisted of 130 items and required approximately 20 min for completion. The survey was delivered online through email invitation by the College of Emergency Nurses Australasia or the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. A hardcopy format of the survey was also delivered at a national conference. Results: Mental health presentations that involved a diagnosis of personality disorder, psychosis or behavioural disturbance, and the management of these conditions were patient factors that were considered problematic by up to 46.3% (118/255; 95% CI 40.26–52.40) of doctors and 66.1% (72/109; 95% CI 56.74–74.28) of nurses. Determining care plans, conducting mental status examinations, assessing risk of self‐harm, pharmacology for treatment and for chemical restraint, management of patient aggression or violence, and alcohol or drug intoxication were also found to be areas of knowledge deficit. Conclusion: Doctors and nurses reported deficits in confidence and knowledge in tasks and patient presentations that they might frequently be expected to manage. These data can be used to inform future curricula at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Ultimately, this might pave the way for improved care and management of patients with mental health problems presenting to the ED.