Grant boosts graduate nursing program training with telehealth simulation

This fall, graduate students in the School of Nursing’s Nurse Practitioner (NP) program have the opportunity to learn about and participate in new telehealth technologies. Students experienced a variety of patient care delivery simulations in an immersive experience through a second grant awarded by the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ), “Using Simulation Innovations to Expand Seton Hall University School of Nursing’s Online Nurse Practitioner Curriculum” . Interprofessional Health Sciences Campus.

“This innovative telemedicine experience is the result of an HFNJ project to further expand nurse practitioner education using online simulators and new telemedicine technologies to enhance online NP programs,” said Katherine Ney, associate dean of the Graduate School. Dr. Kathleen Neville said. , RN, FAAN, is also one of the co-principal investigators of the grant. “This teaching method provides students with more remote opportunities to improve technical skills in a simulated environment, preparing students for practice in complex technical health care systems, including those still being used in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine services highly utilized by healthcare systems.”

Katherine Brown, a student in the Adult Gerontology Primary Care program, shared her enthusiasm for the telehealth experience. “Doing things in a controlled environment and getting immediate feedback helps understand how to do better in real life. I believe all students should have this experience. Times are changing, and even Amazon has telemedicine visits. With this This experience keeps us ahead of the curve.”

The program’s goals are to expand technology innovation, enhance student preparation, and meet national NP core competencies related to the technology. Patricia Horan, also in the Adult Gerontology Primary Care Program, reflects on her experience, “The telemedicine program provided an opportunity to immerse ourselves in real-life patient interactions and allow us to Telehealth services provided comfort. This experience increased my readiness to make the transition from student to licensed practical nurse.”

Sixty-three graduate students from the college’s NP programs (pediatric primary care, psychiatry-mental health, adult-gerontology acute care, and adult-gerontology primary care) participated in the telehealth experience. Using standardized patients (actors) who present health problems, students conduct remote patient visits via telemedicine. Philippe Quipot, a student in the Psychiatry-Mental Health NP program, recognizes that telemedicine has become more important in health care. “This simulation experience was very helpful and I am grateful for the exposure and the environment it provided me to learn and practice,” he said.

Some of the standardized patients the students were exposed to included case presentations that included an adult patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease recently discharged from the hospital, an adult patient diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, an adult patient diagnosed with Pediatric patients with ankylosis (tongue-tie). Parental concerns related to COVID-19 and adults seeking treatment for sinusitis.

Students videotaped ongoing teacher observations and then debriefed to review the telehealth session. “This experience taught me how to prepare for the new wave of virtual medicine in a safe, controlled environment,” said Haylee Intiso, an adult gerontology primary care student. “I feel more confident now making virtual appointments with patients.”

In addition to the telehealth experience, use of the i-Human Patient Product Simulator, a virtual case study software program designed to improve technical skills and practical diagnostic skills, decision-making and clinical reasoning, has been expanded to include more graduate students and case studies from this academic year.

Finally, the HFNJ grant provides students with the opportunity to practice advanced nurse practitioner skills by purchasing arterial catheter and chest tube insertion equipment as well as an emergency crash cart (equipment frequently used by nurses in all acute care settings).

“The telemedicine experience, coupled with the i-Human patient product simulation and equipment procurement provided by HFNJ, greatly enhances the School of Nursing’s ability to provide state-of-the-art innovative education that prepares advanced practice nurse practitioners to continue to evolve and expand. Today’s healthcare Role in Health Care,” associate professor said and co-principal investigators Joyce L. Maglione, PhD, ANP-BC, FNAP.

Eric Suss, adult-gerontology primary care student, added, “As modern medical needs and technologies in primary care continue to change, I am proud to be part of an institution that is at the forefront of adapting head-on to these changes.”

Category: Health & Medicine