Date of Graduation

Winter 12-11-2020

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Department/Program

Nursing

Program

DNP Completion

First Advisor

DR. KT WAXMAN

Second Advisor

DR. JULI MAXWORTHY

Abstract

Problem Oncologic patients requiring acute nursing care are usually admitted to the designated oncologic medical surgical nursing unit, these care settings often have low admission volumes of oncologic patients that require chemotherapy and or post-therapy care (Muehlbauer, Parr, & Perkins, 2013). Nurses in these environments have reported decreased professional confidence and not feeling safe enough to administer chemotherapy, monitor, and care for cancer patients (Muehlbauer, Parr, & Perkins, 2013).

Context: The current education structure for many hospitals in an integrated healthcare system, does not consistently provide all the components needed for an onsite oncologic nursing competency validation program. Developing a facility-driven oncologic nursing competency program that incorporates both web-based learning and simulation may mitigate many of these issues. The aim of this project was to increase the number of competent oncologic registered nurses for an acute care facility, using web-based education and simulation educational modalities.

Intervention: Education and hands-on training needed to demonstrate oncologic competency using web-based oncologic modules and simulated skills review and competency validation were provided to medical-surgical registered nurses that needed initial certification and competency or annual renewal.

Measures: Pre-and post-evaluation survey tools measured the impact of the project.

Results: 7 registered nurses enrolled. Staffed perceived knowledge rating of Oncologic Nursing Care had an improved post-survey rating by 46.4%. Staffed perceived knowledge rating of Chemotherapy Administration had an improved post-survey rating by 58.3%. Staffed perceived confidence rating for caring for an oncologic patient had an improved post-survey rating by 78%. Staffed perceived confidence rating for general nursing assessments had an improved post-survey rating by 40.9%. Statistically, the results are mixed.

Conclusion: The project supports the evidence about the use of simulation educational methods for nursing skills and competency validation. The project is still in active status and the framework is being explored for use in other nursing care areas. Further study is needed with a larger sample size to understand the statistical effects. Additionally, there is a need to study the implications on patient care outcomes as well

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