Evaluating an intervention of telehealth education and simulation for advanced practice registered nurse students: A single group comparison study

Abstract

As healthcare delivery continues to evolve and expand, nurse educators must prepare advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students to use telehealth technology safely, effectively, and confidently. The aims of this study were to describe APRN students' beliefs and confidence regarding the delivery of care via telehealth in their future practice. To evaluate these aims, a single group comparison study was conducted. APRN students received an intervention comprised of multimodal telehealth instruction, which involved the simulated application of telehealth with standardized patients. Students' beliefs regarding telehealth did not significantly change between the pre‐ and post‐intervention, in which all areas were rated high pre‐intervention. Students reported an increase in their perception and confidence post‐intervention. Integration of telehealth into the APRN curriculum is essential to instil knowledge and confidence as healthcare technology advances.

Human technology intermediation to reduce cognitive load: understanding healthcare staff members’ practices to facilitate telehealth access in a Federally Qualified Health Center patient population

“…59 , 60 However, if funding for a dedicated digital navigator is not feasible, intermediation should be written into staff job descriptions, and adequate training to perform these functions should be provided. Such training could include embedding telehealth education into healthcare curricula, 61 , 62 reinforcing telehealth core competencies upon onboarding, 63 and continuing education. 64 …”

Digital Health Education and Training for Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Students: Scoping Review

“…Other students experienced telehealth during a clinical rotation [44] or as part of a clinical experience [67]. Telehealth education was delivered utilizing a variety of educational modalities or strategies including: didactic education (online modules and lectures, reading materials, videos, narrated lectures, self-directed modules) with simulation scenarios and standardized patients [41][42][43]45,47,49,50,53,55,56,[60][61][62][65][66][67][68]70]; asynchronous and synchronous simulation using teleconferencing tools and interactivities with or without didactic education [49,50,56,57,61,63,69]; telehealth self-paced learning with discussion [46]; guest speaker lectures with self-paced modules, lectures, and video conferencing demos [64,123]; simulation with a telehealth robot with an iPad and or a telehealth cart [52,53,62]; simulation with students acting as patients or providers [52,53,56,58]; telehealth as a clinical rotation [44,70]; telehealth OSCEs and clinical exams [45,61,63...…”

“…Researchers designed the interventional studies using different methods including mixed methods [41,53], pre/post design [69], descriptive design [52], quasi-experimental design [42,48], formative and summative evaluation introduced as educational activities [43,46,49,51],…”

“…program evaluations [44,45,47,54,61,63,67], pilot studies [41,50,53,55,57,58,60,62,65,66], and quality improvement projects [56,64,69]. Some studies applied pre/posttest or pre/post surveys to measure a variety of outcomes including knowledge, beliefs, confidence and comfort level, interest in telehealth, attitudes, preparedness, and satisfaction with the learning [42][43][44][45][46]48,50,54,62,64,66,70], proficiency and competence in performing skills, clinical decision making, working collaboratively with members of the health team, communication, providing care virtually, opinions, and experience of learning. In addition, some researchers evaluated the usability of telehealth technologies applied in simulation and/or simulation effectiveness [53].…”

“…Most studies in all the interventions reported below enhanced the intervention design by incorporating theoretical and pedagogical frameworks such as Bandura's self-efficacy theory [64,68], Kolb's Cycle of Experiential Learning [47,70], Ericsson's and Smith Expertise theory[66], the Ottawa Model for Research[69], the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle[64], the Technology Acceptance Model[58], Roy's Adaptation Model[57], Problem-based Learning[60], Bloom's Taxonomy[64,89], Adult Learning Theories[87], Nursing Education Healthcare Informatics Framework (NEHI)[90], Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Competencies[90], and/or professional standards and competencies, telehealth competencies, and best practices for simulation-based research[41-43,45,47,49-51,53-57,59,61- 63,65,70,81,82,89].Interventions Focused on Telehealth Education. Integration was mostly as a stand-alone intervention, a good number of studies reported integration as part of an existing theory or clinical course[42,43,45,46,48,49,51,[59][60][61]64,66,70]; theory courses included health policy, role transition course, advanced health assessment course, and Bio-physical and Integrated Clinical Diagnosis course. Of note, only a few studies engaged students in their final clinical…”