VHA SimLEARN
VISN 6 Nursing Professional Development (NPD) and Simulation Virtual Collaborative Conference
By: Cathy Hebert, Ph.D., RN, GCNS-BC
Education Specialist / Learning Resources Service
Western North Carolina VA Health Care System
Mary E. Holtschneider, MEd, MPA, BSN, RN, NPD-BC
VISN 6 Simulation Champion
Co-Director, Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Clinical Simulation
Durham, North Carolina VA Health Care System
North Carolina – VISN 6 Nursing Professional Development (NPD) and simulation educators celebrated a first in 2020—their first virtual conference. These individuals value collaboration across facilities as demonstrated by their longstanding monthly VISN 6 wide meetings spanning over a decade. These meetings have been held first by phone and then recently migrated to MS Teams. The VISN 6 collaborative team had not met face to face since 2014 and had their sights set on an October 2020 live gathering in Durham until plans were waylaid by COVID-19. They did not give up and instead realigned and paved the way for a new tradition, a digital platform conference bringing NPD practitioners and simulation educators from all seven VISN 6 facilities together for learning and sharing in a virtual environment.
The planning began with Cathy Hebert, Ph.D., RN Education Specialist in Learning Resources in Asheville, Mary E. Holtschneider, MEd, MPA, BSN, RN, NPD-BC, VISN 6 Simulation Champion and Co-Director of the Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Clinical Simulation in Durham, and Gwen Waddell-Schultz, MSN, RN, NE-BC, NPD-BC, VHA-CM, Chief Nurse Executive, Nursing Education and Medicine in Durham. Jonathan Nguyen, CHOS, Simulation Operations Specialist in Richmond, joined the planning team, and added his expertise with technology applications. Recognizing the importance of behind the scenes technical support for a virtual conference, the group engaged the expertise of its vendor, a simulation company that works with VA facilities. Elizabeth Nichols and Emily Shaw expertly managed the platform while the team managed the content.
To maximize participation, the agenda consisted of 3 consecutive days of October 28, 29, & 30, from 1-4 pm on Wed and Thursday, and 10-12 on Friday. This allowed participants to address the needs of their facilities in the morning, then focus on learning and sharing in the afternoon. Small breakout groups identified best practices regarding selected subtopics, including hospital-wide education, education management, outpatient, acute care, RQI, preceptor programs, orientation, and RN Transition to Practice.
In addition to group interactive discussions, educational presentations were offered on High Reliability, virtual programming, Nursing Professional Development Scope and Standards of Practice, and VISN 6 Strategic Initiatives. The synergies with Nursing Professional Development and Simulation were highlighted as the group participated in a simulation “Situation Background Assessment Recommendation (SBAR),” facilitated by Emily Shaw from CAE. As a result of going through this SBAR process, the VISN 6 Nursing Professional Development and VISN 6 Simulation groups will meet jointly instead of separately beginning in 2021 to further enhance these collaborative efforts.
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