SLU Nursing Educator Goes to ‘Boot Camp’ To Create Innovative Tech to Help Students
07/13/2020
As today’s nurses prepare to care for patients in a technology-driven world, Saint Louis University’s Cynthia S. Rubbelke, M.Ed., M.S.N.(R), RN, is utilizing tech to help students maximize their learning and to equip them to pass the difficult tests required by their profession.
The e-Technology coordinator in SLU’s Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing, Rubbelke is taking her tech expertise to the next level as one of 30 nursing faculty members from around the nation at the competitive American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)’s virtual 2020 AACN-Apple Digital Innovation Bootcamp: From Content to Action.
Her project involves creating an app prototype that mimics the new question formats on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Nursing graduates must pass the NCLEX examination in order to be licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN).
Rubbelke plans to develop the prototype into an app that can be used by students to prepare for the examination.
“Our easy access to technology in society requires us to know less than we have before,” Rubbelke.
Building a Better Way to Help Nursing Students Excel
During the July boot camp Rubbelke will learn from Apple development executives and the company’s distinguished educators about technologies that are available to create innovative learning experiences for students.
Apple partnered with the AACN for the boot camp and to advance the association’s strategic goal to serve as the driving force for innovation and excellence in academic nursing.
Rubbelke has previously developed various programs for SLU’s Nursing Clinical Simulation Lab including a simulated Electronic Health Record and a simulated Medication Dispensing System Program.
“Just about anything we could want to know is readily accessible via mobile technology and Siri or Google,” she continued. “Often that technology can hinder the novice nurse’s ability to adequately assess their patient. One purpose of this proposed project is to leverage the technology students already use to improve their critical thinking skills and clinical judgment.”
The proposed Next Generation NCLEX will consist of case studies, similar to unfolding scenarios. Questions will test one of the six areas of clinical judgment in a progressive format and will mimic the Next Generation format by presenting real world scenarios in case study format, progressing through the stages of the Clinical Judgment Model.
“While it will not be as technologically advanced as the NCLEX will be, the format will progress in the same manner,” Rubbelke explained. “Students will be able to develop their critical thinking and clinical judgment skills. This will prepare them for taking the Next Generation NCLEX and ultimately provide superior safe care for their patients.”
Integrating Billiken Expertise, Values Into App Building
As she begins work on the app, Rubbelke has partnered with Margaret Bultas, Ph.D., RN, associate professor of nursing, and Vicki Moran Ph.D., RN, assistant professor of nursing, to develop its prototype.
Like Rubbelke, Bultas and Moran are experienced nurse-educators. Moran and Bultas teach sophomore level nursing student courses that students take before their clinical experiences. The two have created case studies that Rubbelke will integrate into the app prototype.
“Developing an app that utilizes critical thinking skills early in their studies is a step toward linking theory to practice,” Rubbelke said.
The team plans to have the prototype built by the end of the fall 2020 semester. Initially, the plan is to build the app on an iOS platform since a large majority of SLU’s nursing students use iOS. Eventually, the team would like to turn it into a mobile app that can be accessed from any device, Rubbelke said, making it available to students and would-be nurses beyond the University.
“As the e-Technology Coordinator of the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing I love working with faculty members to find ways to leverage technology to enhance student learning,” Rubbelke said. “The AACN experience will provide me with knowledge and tools that I can share with faculty to meet the learning needs of today’s students. This experience aligns with SLU’s mission of seeking excellence in teaching, specifically by encouraging and supporting innovative scholarship and effective teaching.”
About Rubbelke’s App Project
- The idea for this project is to build an app prototype using Keynote that simulates the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Next Generation NCLEX.
- Unfolding case studies will be used to build the prototype. The case studies will be based on real clinical situations and be formatted according the to the Clinical Judgment Model (CJM).
- Initially students will be presented with a scenario. They will then progress through each step of the CJM based on their responses. The first step will be to recognize cues. Important information will be presented to them from sources such as nurses notes, assessment findings, lab data, etc. They will need to select the top findings.
- Next, they progress to analyzing the cues. The next step is prioritizing hypotheses which will involve rank ordering. Interventions will be identified as part of generating solutions phase.
- During the take-action phase, they will identify the highest priority solutions.
- Finally, they will evaluate outcomes. Their progression through the CJM will be based on their responses at each point. For instance, if they do not correctly analyze cues, they will be taken to a different screen in the app than if they had analyzed correctly. Various activities will be included to progress such as rank ordering, select all relevant cues, and select from list. These activities will be created using Keynote hyperlinks and ribbon tools. The iterative process will continue to allow them to progress through the app and reach the desired patient outcome.
- As students progress through the app they will be awarded points for correct decision-making, similar to a game. Points may be given for partial credit, but they will still be directed to a different slide than if they received full credit. Points may also be deducted for poor clinical decision making that results in patient deterioration.
- A final score will be recorded when they have completed the application. The points will not be used for grading but are utilized as an incentive for correct action.
- The application will be utilized for individual student learning and can also be used in groups for collaborative learning.
- When used with groups, teams can be formed, and team competition created such as students are familiar with in other active learning strategies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Nurse Midwives,” in order to highlight the need for increased numbers of nurses and midwives worldwide. As part of the year’s celebrations, and to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of famed nursing advocate Florence Nightingale, the University is telling the stories of SLU nurses who impact communities on and beyond campus through their teaching, outreach and research in a limited special series.
Story by Amelia Flood, University Marketing and Communications