New Jersey Nurse - April 2021

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Page 10 New Jersey Nurse & Institute for Nursing Newsletter April 2021 Caught in the Chaos: The Pandemic Precepting Predicament Clinical Professor Clarese M. Bradley MSN, RN, ACNP Identifying your calling in life is something that few get the opportunity to experience. When the calling is greater than yourself one may consider themselves’ fortunate. They map their route and set out on their journey, establishing benchmarks. Nurses are no stranger to this, anxiously setting high hopes for the day they are able to put their skills to use. Before that day they must endure intense training, endless study nights and challenging exams. They yearn to complete benchmarks; graduation, National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and their first nursing assignment. These are the tales I, a clinical professor, hear nursing students speak of. What does a novice nurse do when their dreams are met with a reality nightmare - the Corona Virus Pandemic, infamously known as “COVID-19?” COVID-19 has overshadowed the medical field casting anxiety, fear, doubt and hopelessness in even the most experienced of medical professionals. The normal rite of passage for new nurses, preceptorship, has been marred by COVID-19. Nurses have had to endure increased work demand, lack of medical supplies and support. Although not new, burnout has been exacerbated at an accelerated rate, within nursing. Welcoming first day orientation by experienced nurses has been replaced with exhausted and frustrated nurses forced to find the emotional strength to nurture impressionable new nurses. More disconcerting is preceptorship by first year nurses, due to insufficient staffing. I have personally witnessed both in my time at the bedside during this pandemic. Where does this leave our new nurses? How does the exhausted bring up the apprehensive novice? What little strength that is left in our experienced nurse is reserved for their families and/or personal lives. This misrepresentation orients the novice nurse into a fight or flight response, creating a two-prong problem: Fight: Those that stay may be trained by unseasoned nurses resulting in the compromise of patient care. Should this become the new norm we can expect to see more medical errors, threatening the positive outcome of patient care. Flight: Novice nurses overwhelmed by lack of guidance, affirmation, and emotional support may feel inept. They may feel their personal calling was illogical and instead may seek alternative career options, risking the continued nursing shortage across the nation. Where will this leave the future of nursing? Recruitment, retainment and resiliency should be made priority. Nurses represent approximately 50% of the healthcare work force. To the community, nurses are the icons of trust in healthcare. It is because of this high regard nursing needs to be viewed as a profession rather than a vocation. The pandemic has been brutal but when has the nursing profession been for the fainthearted! This is a time that we look to nursing leaders, educators, and mentors to exemplify why their role is so imperative. Our new nurses deserve dedicated training. This is a call to uphold the pride of nursing through strong leadership, guidance, and composure. This is a call to all education programs to put their best recruitment and training efforts forward. Lastly this is a call to all professional nursing associations and boards to highlight the vitality of this profession and charge our leaders to remain the consistent caregivers we are. What more could I have done? A nurse educator’s reflection on student outcomes. Dr. Erica Edfort, DNP, NVRN-BC, RN-BC, FAHA As nurse educators, we provide our students with knowledge coming from years of experience in various health care settings. We mentor them through their academic careers. However, at times, we see our efforts are not enough for our students to achieve successful outcomes. We deliver the traditional classroom $10,000 SIGN ON BONUS! Cedar Park Regional is offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus and relocation assistance for RNs with at least one year of acute care experience in the following areas: Med/Surg, ICU, ED, Labor & Delivery Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is a 126 bed acute care facility located in the northwest corridor of Austin, Texas, one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. The area offers an abundance of outdoor activities with many parks, hiking and bike trails. Austin is known as the culture center of Texas and prides itself on being dubbed the live music capital of the world. The area will not disappoint with many diverse shopping venues, amazing dining experiences, microbreweries and wineries to suit every taste. instruction which usually includes multiple teaching/learning methods such as lectures, case studies, classroom discussions, to name a few. As faculty, we mentor our students through difficult times, holding tutoring sessions, offer additional aids to our students, such as 1-on-1 consultations, review sessions, or hands on demonstrations to support our students. With the efforts we provide as nurse educators, we hope that the outcome of our efforts has empowered our students to succeed. There may be many issues in today’s world that lead students down an unproductive path. The problem may be time management (work-school-life balance), personal issues, comprehension of academic material, or a myriad of other things. Unless we, as nursing faculty, can identify the barriers, the outcome may not be as expected and result in unsuccessful completion of a nursing course. With this outcome comes a variety of issues on the faculty side – realizing that our efforts were in vain for some students may place a faculty member at a disadvantage – will he/she feel that they did everything in their power to help the student to succeed? Will the faculty member look at the student’s path to see “is there anything else I could have done for this student?” Unless there is an established plan, the faculty member must act accordingly – notify the student of his/her unsuccessful attempt in the class. Looking back on the efforts of the student throughout the academic session, is the accountability on the student to seek assistance if he/she is not performing effectively? Has the faculty member kept the student in his/her sights and identified them as an “at risk” student, offering all resources to lead the student down a different path? But is the issue only on the student’s shoulders? Are faculty prepared to “fail” a student if he/she underperforms in the academic setting? The support faculty provide will not only be to assist the student to gain knowledge in subject matter; however, if needed, they must also support the student during the difficult time of realizing their efforts have not been successful in the academic setting. Elliott (2016) recognized that faculty may require knowledge and skill to support an unsuccessful student while in the process of discussing the potential negative outcome. Peate (2018) identified that faculty may be reluctant to fail students who do not meet the learning outcomes. Do faculty require additional training to identify the need to make the appropriate decisions in these situations? Do they need to gain knowledge of how to mentor students effectively who are falling behind and have difficulty meeting the course requirements? As faculty, we must first identify students who do not demonstrate the application of knowledge in the classroom setting as an “at-risk” student. North, Kennedy, Wray (2019) identified several reasons which may deter faculty from recognizing underperforming students, such as faculty who exhibit lack of confidence; unwillingness to devote time required to fail a student and emotional impact of failing a student. So, as an educator, we need to look deeply to determine… is it me or is it my student who needs assistance? References: Elliott, C., (2016). Identifying and managing underperformance in nursing students. British Journal of Nursing. 25(5). 250-255 North, H., Kennedy, M., Wray, J. (2019). Are mentors failing to fail underperforming student nurses? An integrative literature review. British Journal of Nursing. 28(4), 250-255. Peate, I. (2018). Failing to Fail. British Journal of Nursing, 27(7): 355-355. Apply online at www.cedarparkregional.com
April 2021 New Jersey Nurse & Institute for Nursing Newsletter Page 11 Adult Use Cannabis in New Jersey Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Coalition for Medical Marijuana–NJ, Inc., Executive Director The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) is an all-volunteer, non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization, incorporated in the State of New Jersey. The mission of CMMNJ is to educate the public about medical E marijuana. The goal of CMMNJ is to have safe and legal access to medical marijuana for all New Jersey patients who can benefit from it. On March 10, 2020 CMMNJ celebrated the 17th anniversary of its founding. CMMNJ was instrumental in getting the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" introduced into the Legislature in 2005 and passed into law in 2010. In 2014, CMMNJ’s Board of Directors endorsed legalization of marijuana. The Board recognized legalization as the most efficient and effective way to get the therapeutic effects of marijuana to the vast number of patients who can benefit from this plant. Legalization of marijuana is also an important step in undoing the harms to our society that are caused by our current policy of drug prohibition. In 2020, CMMNJ conducted a campaign in support of the New Jersey ballot question to legalize marijuana. CMMNJ broadened its coalition of supporters; continued its educational campaign; instructed residents to register to vote; and, encouraged residents to vote "YES" on Ballot Question #1 in the General Elections on November 3rd. The final election results on Question 1 to Legalize Marijuana in New Jersey: YES - 2,737,674 (67%) NO - 1,343,603 (32%) (As of 11/25/20 with 6,348 of 6,348 Precincts Reporting - 100%) Cannabis legalization won in all 21 counties in New Jersey, with approval rates from 75% in Camden County to 60% in Ocean County. The Constitutional Amendment takes effect on 1/1/21. Per the ballot question’s Interpretive Statement: “The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (will) oversee the new adult cannabis market…The scope of the commission’s new authority (will) be detailed in laws enacted by the Legislature.” It is estimated that cannabis will be available for purchase over the counter by adults in New Jersey in late 2021. Registered Nurses are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This system in the human body was discovered only about 25 years ago, and it is not yet taught in most nursing or medical schools. The ECS provides the scientific understanding for how cannabis can be a safe and effective treatment for such a wide variety of diseases, symptoms, and conditions. For a list of the debilitating medical conditions that are currently approved by the Department of Health for cannabis therapy, see: https://www.nj.gov/health/ medicalmarijuana/pat_faqs.shtml In 2020, CMMNJ held twelve free, public meetings on the second Tuesday of each month from 7 - 9 PM. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the meetings since April 2020 were conducted via Zoom conferences. CMMNJ sent the agendas for these meetings via e-mail to over 1000 supporters each month and posted the agendas on Facebook, Twitter and on the CMMNJ blog. For further information contact CMMJ at: www. cmmnj.org
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