Tuesday October 2nd,
2:00 – 5:00 pm

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Integration of ICT into a Nurse Mentorship Program

Presenting Author: Kathleen Heslin, RN, MscN, Mina Singh, RN, PhD

CO-AUTHORS: Abel Cheng, BSc, Med (Cand.), CCRP

The current study is a collaborative between York Central Hospital and York University to evaluate a Nurse Mentorship Program that integrated with information and communication technologies (ICTs). The investigators addressed limitations within the organization that ranged from costs to limited access to computers and the Internet. Challenges for nursing staff and educators included skills and confidence with ICT. Gaps in age, gender, and the familiarity with ICT among new hire and experienced nurses were identified. 'Integration' is the main goal for incorporating ICT into knowledge translation for nurses. One effective method of integration is for nurses to transfer their existing technology skills into the ICT environment. Emailing and web browsing, which are common skills that nurses have and were the basic ICT development parameters for the program that include both a website and online discussion forums. The website is a cost effective strategy to centralize information about the program. It also made used of popular web-based technology, like You Tube and Google Video, for streaming educational material and video captures for computer training. Online discussion forums are one of the most popular ICTs for nursing on the Internet, which were used in the program for building and sustaining the mentoring relationships through discussing various nursing topics. The program evaluation also follows the theme of integration by utilizing online surveys not only to evaluate outcomes, but also to familiarize nurses to electronic coding methods and assessments. Qualitative evaluation is also integrated by analyzing the discussions between nurses in the online forum.

Biography

Kathleen Heslin is the Chief Nurse Executive at York Central Hospital. She is the overall project lead of the mentorship program. Her research background includes injury prevention; clinical leadership and clinical best practice guidelines. Kathleen is a strong advocate of integrating technologies into nursing practice and knowledge transfer and patient safety.

Mina Singh is an Assistant Professor at York University, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing. She is one of the mentorship study investigators leading the statistical analysis, and an instrumental part of the ICT development team. Her research interest includes program evaluation in healthcare and nursing education, as well as current technologies to enhance learning for both student and practicing nurses.



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