Short, sweet, teach and repeat: A competency-based skills fair

19^th Global Nursing Education Conference

April 27-28, 2017 Las Vegas, USA

Ana Bandin, Laura M Hernandez, Jenna Klareich, Nancy Lima-Keller and Stephanie Whitely

Nicklaus Children�s Hospital, USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Statement of the Problem: Achieving effective nursing education lies in addressing everyone�s learning needs while having students partake in their learning. The literature supports, skills fairs as significant way of validating competencies. Skills fairs are a way to reinforce practice guidelines and add new knowledge. The clinical educator team established the need to develop competency-based learning through a skill fair. The purpose of this skill fair was to increase the knowledge-base of nurses with varied experiences across the point of care, through a nonconventional learning opportunity, which standardized care delivery in medical surgical units. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Skills chosen for the fair were based on a needs- assessment evaluation and common medical surgical skills. The 12 skills stations introduced were: Blood administration, quality indicators, wound care, intravenous access care, sepsis screening, chest tube care, tracheostomy care, pain management, infection prevention, medication administration, feeding tube care, regulatory agency, and code cart review. Pretests and post-tests were administered to all attendees. A passport was provided as a roadmap ensuring attendance at each skill stations. Upon completion, the completed passport entered a raffle. Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles were captured. Vendors were available to inform attendees about professional development opportunities. Feedback by way of evaluations, helped to clarify unclear points and share experiences. Findings: From 200 attendees, pretest average was 74%. Post-test average was 90% showing knowledge retention. Three post-tests have showed monthly increase of knowledge retention at 89%, 90% and 92%. Pre-event self-knowledge increased from 78% to 94%. Satisfaction showed an average of 4.1 on a 1-5 scale. Conclusion & Significance: Competency-based learning with skills fairs, benefits nursing practice and standardizes care. Findings demonstrated knowledge retention and event satisfaction. Competency-based learning with skills fairs enhances care delivery by improving skill sets for a more competent nurse in today�s evolving healthcare system.

Biography :

Ana Bandin received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Miami in 2006. She’s been a pediatric nurse in the respiratory unit for more than 10 years. Her expertise, passion for teaching, innovation and evidence based practice, led her to her current role of clinical educator for her unit. She’s a Master in Nursing Education candidate this summer. She serves as the facilitator for the nursing research and evidence based practice council at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. She was presented the certificate of Excellence for an Evidence-based practice Poster from the Society of Pediatric Nurses in April 2016 and awarded Scholar of the Year for her organization in Nurses’ week 2016. Ana strives for quality and safe care through best practices while driving service excellence and patient satisfaction in her unit and organization.

Email: Ana.Bandin@mch.com

Jenna Klareich has been practicing as a pediatric nurse for 8 years. She obtained masters in nursing education from the University of Central Florida. While practicing as a bedside nurse, she acquired a certification in pediatric nursing. She then became an assistant nurse manager for a medical surgical pediatric unit and an orthopedic/neurology pediatric unit. Along with working at the bedside and in management, she also worked part time as an adjunct instructor at a local nursing college educating nursing students in the skills lab and taking them to clinical sites. Currently, I practice as a clinical specialist/educator on a medical pediatric unit. The specialties on the unit include, but are not limited to, gastroenterology, endocrinology, nephrology, and adolescent medicine. Educating patients, families, and staff about current evidence based practices is a strong passion of mine so everyone can benefit from high quality care.

Email: Jenna.Klareich@mch.com