Talk about the future inevitably includes a discussion about our aging population. Our healthcare system is under pressure to promote good health and prevention for legions of baby-boomers entering their golden years. It’s not surprising that the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing, lead by its Dean, Dr. Kirsten Woodend, is making strives to ensure that its programming reflects the need for research and knowledge in caring for the aging.

“Our school is located in a city with a large demographic of seniors,” Professor Woodend says, reflecting on the Trent/Fleming advantage. “This gives our students the opportunity to practice primary care for the aging. We are in the perfect position to shine as health and aging experts."

Prof. Woodend’s vision for the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing is to develop leaders in both the research and practice of caring for the aging. Nurses, she says, possess all the qualities required of leaders in healthcare and, as the largest collective group of healthcare providers, will become a driving force in shaping our future.

“It is our role as educators to make nurses aware of their potential as leaders and advocates of health,” she says. “It’s time to move away from a hierarchal system that sees the physician as the primary leader and recognize nurses as equal team members.”  In doing so, Prof. Woodend emphasizes, we will improve our healthcare system by taking pressure off only a few and empowering a great number.

“Nurses are effective individuals,” Prof. Woodend says, “with strong critical reasoning skills and the ability to cope in complex situations. They should be working to the full scope of their practice.” This means being active in community health initiatives, promotion, prevention, and policy making.

The Role of Technology in Nursing Education

Technology will play a key role in preparing nursing students to take the reins. Prof. Woodend envisions her students completing their nursing education in rural communities, where they perform as primary healthcare providers while completing course work remotely. “Seventy percent of nurses work in acute care,” Prof. Woodend explains, “moving them into the community where they can play more complex roles will increase their confidence and establish them as well-regarded experts. This will prove even more effective if we can start early in their career, while they are still students.” Tools like the Ontario Telemedicine Network will make this possible by allowing students to complete lab work remotely through simulation, a technological advancement that is changing nursing education.

Simulation can create experiences that clinical placements can’t always provide. Nursing professor Cindy Gilmer regards simulation as a way to round out clinical experiences. “We can simulate environments not every student will have the opportunity to practice in,” she says. “It’s a powerful tool that allows us to slow down processes, allowing students to think critically about the situation.”

Simulation runs the gamut from the use of high-tech dolls, to working with actors who simulate patient-nurse interaction, or recreating clinical experiences using computer avatars. With the development of the new simulation birthing  suite at Trent well under-way, Prof. Woodend hopes to see her dream of a regional simulation centre come to fruition with simulation labs throughout the city, offering skills-sharpening practice to healthcare professionals and critical learning opportunities to students.

Both Professors Woodend and Gilmer see further collaboration with regional and local associations as key elements of the Trent/Fleming School’s future. Continuing the School’s partnership with St. Joseph’s at Fleming will place students elbow to elbow with long term care professionals and introduce them to an area of healthcare that is quickly becoming the most demanding.

“Our aging population will impact all areas of health care,” says Prof. Gilmer, “including emergency and acute care. Working with long-term care professionals gives students an understanding of the needs of the elderly and how to care for them in any situation.” Developing an appreciation for this area of work is key and can be accomplished by emphasizing the importance of research and policy making. “Currently we care for those in long term care,” Prof. Gilmer says, “but in the future we will need to conduct real research in this area. We need to study patient outcomes more critically so that we can improve our practice.

Student Placements in the Community

“Students of our Community Nursing course complete placements in long term care facilities working with professionals developing policy and procedure and conducting secondary research,” Prof. Gilmer explains. “This is powerful – it shows the student they can make a difference by applying their knowledge.”

“We have such an opportunity to lead research and development in this area,” Prof. Woodend adds. As the first school in Ontario to be named as a Registered Nursing Association of Ontario’s Best Practice Spotlight Organization and as the only nursing school in a region with no medical school, Trent can really take a leadership role.

Posted on Thursday, November 3, 2011.