A case study - Implementing a registered nurse professional recognition program across a Queensland hospital and health service

Ongoing advancement and documentation of professional development is required to maintain nursing registration and competency to practise in Australia and many other countries. All Australian registered nurses are required to undertake a minimum of 20 h of continuing professional development annually and demonstrate competence to practice; this is a criterion for nursing registration. Many health care organisations nationally and internationally develop programs to support such processes, assisting nurses to formally document their ongoing education and commitment to best practice, and clearly demonstrate their ongoing continuing professional development. Such programs align with the MAGNET ® principles of providing structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice and new knowledge, innovations and improvements. This study describes the implementation, evaluation and impact of the registered nurse professional recognition program undertaken by one Hospital and Health Service in South East Queensland using Donabedian's structure, process outcome framework. The registered nurse professional recognition program was implemented to invest in and develop the nursing workforce by providing an opportunity for registered nurses to assess and document their professional skills, knowledge and expertise that are critical to the provision of safe and cost-effective patient and family-centred care.     

Bridging the theory-practice gap: a practice-relevant research course for RN to BSN students

Wanting to create passion for research and evidence-based practice (EBP), the authors describe how a nursing instructor and the director for research and EBP in a community hospital partnered together to teach a practice-relevant research course for RN to BSN students. Students participated in the steps of the EBP process and presented formal reports in class of their EBP project results. One student described her research experience as awesome-evidence that this course bridged the theory-practice gap.     

Authentic Teaching to Promote Active Learning: Redesign of an Online RN to BSN Evidence-Based Practice Nursing Course

BackgroundAlthough an evidence-based practice course (EBP) is taught in most undergraduate nursing programs, timeworn teaching strategies of lecture, discussions, and narrative written assignments are typically used.ProblemThe current online EBP course in an RN-BSN program was initially developed with low level objectives and included busywork that did not provide students with an opportunity to apply the seven steps of the EBP process.ApproachRevision of the EBP course incorporated authentic teaching/learning methods, in which active learning was required since students actually worked through the seven steps of the EBP process; first through small group online discussions and then through individually crafted assignments. The project was not implemented since it was based on a realistic but fictitious clinical scenario that was used throughout the various steps. Each step began with all students working from the same information or data, which helped to focus on learning the EBP process itself.ConclusionsStudents reported decreased stress by first working collaboratively in groups where they received support from faculty and classmates, then completing individual assignments. Faculty were in turn given support when giving feedback and grading assignments by using completed templates and reference lists that were provided for them. Students also demonstrated better preparation to develop and implement their own EBP projects in their capstone course.