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Tuesday, November 6, 2007

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This presentation is part of : Professional Development Initiatives for Nursing
Increasing Nursing Input in the Design and Construction of Healthcare Facilities
Sandra K. Cesario, RNC, PhD, College of Nursing, Texas Woman's University, Houston, TX, USA
Learning Objective #1: Identify areas in which nurse leaders can contribute to the transdisciplinary process of planning and designing health care facilities.
Learning Objective #2: Reflect upon situations in which the design of the environment has enhanced or inhibited the nurses ability to provide safe and effective care.

Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers and the primary users of healthcare facilities, yet they usually have very little input into the planning, building, or remodeling of healthcare facilities.  The first step in giving nurses an equal voice in evaluating and designing healthcare facilities is to provide them with the tools and language to communicate their ideas and needs.  Developing a graduate-level nursing course with a pedagogically sound syllabus provides nurse leaders with a working knowledge of engineering, architecture, and design concepts that foster transdisciplinary communication and has the potential to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and delivery of heath care.

 

A doctoral-level nursing course offered at Texas Woman’s University in Houston will be showcased as a model that successfully implemented nontraditional transdisciplinary collaboration and industry partnering to provide PhD nursing students with leadership, scholarship, and research opportunities.  The unique and timely development of the course received the 2007 Award for Innovation in Graduate Nursing Education by the Texas Organization for Baccalaureate and Graduate Education (TOBGNE).

 

Using the tenets of Experiential Learning Theory, additional hands-on learning opportunities with architectural aids, computer-assisted design software, and room-building materials were included to enhance learning.  Participants reflected upon the everyday experiences of the nurse or patient in the context of the health care environment.  Problematic and enabling circumstances found within the environment were simulated and solutions explored using real-time, scaled modeling, or life-size scenarios.  Concepts related to legal and financial constraints, developing transdisciplinary teams, and innovative approaches to industrial partnering were also explored.  Thanks to the generous support of Hill-Rom, this course provided an exceptional learning opportunity for nurse leaders.