Project Title: Competency Assessment in Simulation of Electronic Health Records (CASE) Tool: A Validated Tool to Evaluate EHR Competency in Simulation 

Susan McBride, PhD, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FAAN, Laura Thomas, PhD, RN, CNE, and Sharon Decker, PhD, RN, FSSH, ANEF, FAAN

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing
 Amount Awarded: $29,845.20

Abstract: The use of electronic health records (EHR) in the healthcare setting requires that nursing schools provide education and practice in electronic documentation as part of the academic curriculum. Simulation centers with EHRs provide a safe place for students to learn and practice their documentation skills. When students are prepared to use the EHR in simulation, the skills they develop can be transferred to the clinical setting. Patients ultimately benefit from safe, high-quality patient care when student nurses learn to use the EHR appropriately for assessment, communication and decision making. Faculty need an objective tool to measure student electronic documentation competencies to ensure accuracy, efficiency, safety, and privacy.

This study will fill a significant gap in tools available to evaluate competent use of the EHR in undergraduate nursing education. Best practices in use of the EHR impact safety and efficiency when nurses document the care delivered within a simulation environment (Stephenson, et al., 2014; Wilbanks & Aroke, 2020). The purpose of this study is to build the science of nursing education through the generation and translation of innovative teaching and learning strategies. This research will further develop a precise and appropriate measurement and assessment instrument, the Competency Assessment in Simulation of Electronic Health Records (CASE) tool, to measure nursing student’s competency with electronic health record (EHR) documentation in simulation.

Published results: Validation of a Tool to Evaluate Nursing Students' Electronic Health Record Competency in Simulation.

Ruth Donnelly Corcoran Research Award

Project Title: Impact of Simulation Versus Case-Based Learning on Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors Related to Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People

Rhonda Schwindt, DNP, PMHNP-BC , Laurie Posey, EdD,   Deborah Johnson, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, and Quiping (Pearl) Zhou, PhD, RN

George Washington University School of  Nursing, *University of California, San Francisco
Amount Awarded: $29,997

Abstract: Limited access to affirming mental health care combined with exposure to stigmatizing and discriminatory experiences has resulted in profound mental health disparities in the transgender and gender diverse population. As critical members of the clinical team, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) are uniquely positioned to improve the mental health outcomes of transgender and gender diverse people. To achieve this goal, PMHNP students must have opportunities to learn about the unique mental health needs of the transgender and gender diverse population and to actively apply their knowledge and skills to real-world case scenarios. Graduate nurse educators need evidence to guide their decisions about incorporating content related to gender diversity into nursing curricula to optimize resources and learning. We will use a convergent, parallel mixed-methods design to examine the impacts of virtual standardized patient (SP) simulation and case-based learning (CBL) on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of PMHNP students (N= 80; 40/group) related to the mental health care of transgender and gender diverse people. A quasi-experimental design will be used to explore between-group differences as well as students’ perceptions of the virtual SP simulation design. Students’ reflections about providing mental health care to transgender and gender diverse people after participating in a virtual SP simulation will be analyzed using thematic content analysis. Our research will generate data to support the use of evidence-based teaching strategies in graduate education that enhance clinical preparedness and as a result, increase the capacity of future PMHNPs to meet the mental health needs of the transgender and gender diverse population.

Published results: Just Another Patient? Student Reflections on Providing Mental Health Care to Transgender and Gender Expansive People During Simulated Encounters.  

Nancy Langston Research Award

Project Title: A Scoping Review of Research in Nursing Education Focusing on Retrieval Practice, an Evidence-Based Strategy of the Science of Learning

Thomas J. Van Hoof, MD, EdD, FACMQ and E. Carol Polifroni, RN, EdD, CNE, NEA- BC, ANEF, University of Connecticut School of Nursing
$14,157.80

Abstract: The science of learning (learning science) is an emerging interdisciplinary field that offers evidence-based strategies to improve teaching and learning. One of the most highly effective learning-science strategies is retrieval practice, which consists of using practice tests to maintain and extend mastery. Despite a century of research supporting its effectiveness, retrieval practice appears underutilized in nursing education. This research study seeks to determine the actual status of retrieval practice in original research of nursing education following a formal scoping review framework and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to report the findings. Scoping reviews are ideal for mapping the status of research in an important area, with the findings informing ongoing research and identifying best practices. Guided by consultants from library science, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience, this scoping review will review multiple databases for common terminology to identify original research articles for data abstraction and analysis. The principal investigators, with collective expertise in nursing, medicine, and education, will lead an interprofessional and international team that includes a doctoral nursing student, who is interested in academic nursing and/or nursing education. This study will fuel ongoing efforts to promote the research and use of an innovative practice.

Published results: A Scoping Review of Retrieval Practice (Test-Enhanced Learning) in Nursing Education

Mary Anne Rizzolo Doctoral Research Award

Project Title: The Impact of Self-Efficacy Based Prebriefing on Nursing Student Clinical Competency and Self-Efficacy in Simulation

Brittany Brennan, PhD, RN, CHSE
South Dakota State University Doctoral Program
Amount Awarded: $2,500

CO-SPONSORED GRANTS

NLN/Sigma Foundation for Nursing Diane Billings Research Award

 Project Title: The Effect of Same Gender and Same Race Coaching Intervention of the        Resilience of Black Baccalaureate Nursing Students

 Sagine Bien-Aime, MSN, CRNP, AGPCNP-BC, Doctoral Candidate
 Widener University
Amount Awarded: $5,000

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NLN/Southern Nursing Research Society Doctoral Research Award

 Project Title: Remembering to Resume: A Randomized Trial Comparing Combined Interruption   Management Training and Simulation-Based Education to Simulation-Based Education Alone

 Peggy P. Hill, PhD, RN, CHSE
 University of Central Florida Doctoral Program
 Amount Awarded: $5,000