|
Date of Report:
06/2007
Source:
Pennsylvania/MidAtlantic AETC
Nurses working in HIV often do not
have certification as HIV/AIDS
specialists. To learn why nurses
have not pursued this certification, Hazel
Jones-Parker, CRNP, AACRN, nurse
educator at the University of Maryland
(UMAB), a local performance site (LPS) of
the Pennsylvania/MidAtlantic AETC
(PA/MA AETC), conducted needs
assessment activities with nurses working
in the field as well as key informants. The
needs assessment data revealed that test
anxiety is a barrier to certification.
Respondents also indicated that they
never had an HIV primer course to review
many of the topics on the certification
exam and felt a general lack of support.
Many reported they would like to take the
ACRN exam offered by the Association of
Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC).
Ms. Parker and Carrie Wallace, Site
Director for the LPS, began to develop a
plan to assist nurses with obtaining
certification. Under the direction of Dr.
Linda Frank, PhD, MSN, ACRN, Principal
Investigator of the PA/MA AETC, a review
course was planned as a continuous
quality improvement initiative. Using the
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
as a resource, the initiative would be
reviewed and evaluated.
Within the PA/MA AETC, the phrase "it's
all about relationships" is often heard. The
University of Maryland LPS team reached
out to their partner LPSs and received an
overwhelmingly positive response to
collaborate on this project. Many AETC
nurses are ANAC members and certified
HIV specialists. With this support, Ms.
Parker began to develop a one-day
workshop to be held about two months before the next scheduled ANAC testing
date. Using the outline established by
ANAC, she created an agenda, identified
presenters, and generated overall support
for the event.
Registration was limited to 20 participants
and on August 16th, 2006, the first course
was held. Data from the evaluation forms
revealed that over 90 percent of the
participants were minority providers working
in Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act
(RWTMA)-funded programs. Verbal feedback
and written evaluations were
overwhelmingly positive. The best news
came as participants reported they had
taken the course and passed.
Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model,
the following recommendations were
implemented for future courses:
|
Offer the course for two days |
|
|
|
Expand upon the topics of test-taking
skills and mental health |
|
|
|
|
Continue to distribute the ANAC Core
Curriculum Book |
|
|
|
|
Explain the new ANAC on-line
practice test |
|
|
With these changes implemented, the
second review course was held on March
20-21st, 2007. Again, evaluation data
revealed that a large number of minority
providers working in RWTMA-funded
programs participated and were satisfied
with the two-day course. ANAC reported an
increase in the number of nurses registered
for the spring test dates after this course
was provided. Again, the best news was
the number of participants who successfully
passed the exam.
The last PDSA cycle identified the need to
offer this program throughout the region and
plans are being developed to move forward
with offering this course at other LPSs
within the PA/MA AETC. On June 18-19th,
2007, Adele Webb, PhD, RN, Executive
Director of ANAC, attended the PA/MA
AETC's Consortium Partners Meeting in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to continue the
discussion about the expansion of this effort.
It should be noted that many of the nurse
presenters from the PA/MA AETC dedicated
their presentations to the memory of Dr.
Doris Mosely, our former HRSA Project
Director. Dr. Mosely was a true role model
for so many of us and her commitment to
professional nursing should never be
forgotten.
|
