26 February 2005 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The Crystal Apple Award is given by the American Association of
Nurse Anesthetists Education Committee at the annual National Assembly
of School Faculty (AOSF). The Crystal Apple is the most prestigious
program-level award offered within the Nurse Anesthesia Educational
community. This year the AOSF meeting was in Ft Lauderdale, FL.
Crystal Apple entries were judged by the Education Committee on
the following criteria:
• Innovation
• Usefulness
• Practicality
• Applicability to other programs
• Degree of impact on educational environment
The recipient was announced at the Assembly of School of Faculty
on Saturday, February 26, 2005. Our entry titled: The Creation
of a Structured Mentoring Program: The University of Pittsburgh
School of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program /University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center (UPMC) Mentoring Partnership was selected as the
winner! Krista Bragg CRNA, MSN was named Mentoring Coordinator
for the University of Pittsburgh Nurse Anesthesia Program last
year and deserves much of the credit as do the many clinical CRNAs
who have selflessly donated their time to the effort. Dr. Leslie
Hoffman was supportive throughout and was the keynote speaker at
a mentoring CE program for CRNAs. Mr. JW Wallace (UPMC) also spoke
and was a catalyst for program development. Ms. Ella Thomas (CRNA
Director UPMC) provided UPMC administrative support and shared
her personal history and approach to mentoring of minority students.
Dr. Gail Wolf provided guidance and support throughout as Ms. Braggs’ mentor
in her administration masters program. The NURSAN faculty and student
body have participated and given of time selflessly over the last
six months. In support of the program we received an unrestricted
$3,500.00 educational grant from Glaxo Smith Kline which allowed
us to hold the mentoring CE program at a local restaurant as well
as second planned event for this Spring.(this was declared as per
protocol).
We have now applied for and received IRB approval (Exempt 0502044)
to study participants in our 1st year class and compare responses
with our 2nd year group who did not have the benefit of such a
program. We plan to analyze the results and publish in the AANA
Journal in Fall 2005. We then plan to conduct a follow-up study
in February 2006 comparing perceptions of our 1st year students
one year later and also against the perceptions of their CRNA mentors.
I believe that this is a strong example of what is possible in
our efforts to enrich the educational environment, support both
student and community relationships, and offer value to our primary
clinical affiliates at UPMC.
John O'Donnell
The Creation of a Structured Mentoring Program: The University of
Pittsburgh School of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program /University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Mentoring Partnership
Krista Bragg CRNA, MSN Mentoring Coordinator; John O'Donnell CRNA,
MSN; Laura Palmer CRNA, MNEd; Ella Thomas CRNA, BS; Gail Wolf RN,
DNS,FAAN; Leslie Hoffman RN, PhD; JW Wallace PhD; Sandra Sell CRNA,
MSN; Bettina Dixon CRNA, MSN; William Teskey CRNA, MSN; Deanna Alko
SRNA, BSN; Amy Baker SRNA, BSN; Zina Carrol SRNA, BSN.
Purpose:
Develop a confidential, structured, professional mentoring program
for the student anesthetist providing an opportunity for role modeling,
transfer of skills and knowledge, feedback, advice, networking,
and support.
Specific Objectives:
- Facilitate SRNA adaptation
to the student role with follow-up through transition
to the graduate role and entry into the workforce.
- Enhance involvement,
satisfaction, and sense of contribution by CRNA clinical
instructors toward the development of the next generation of
providers.
- Acknowledge
the value and hard work of the CRNA clinical instructors
by offering a 5 credit CE meeting on mentoring and clinical education.
- Provide
UPMC Health System leadership with an opportunity to foster
positive relationships with both SRNAs and CRNAs in the areas
of improved recruiting and retention.
Methods:
An article on student perspectives for
mentoring was solicited by the AANA Education Committee in 2003
and published by students and faculty from the University of
Pittsburgh (Meno K, Keaveny B, O’Donnell
JM. Mentoring in the Operating Room: A Student
Perspective. Journal of American Association of Nurse
Anesthetists.71,5. 2003;337-341). This work indicated
that SRNAs clearly recognize the value of CRNA mentoring.
Based on the results of our article, we decided to implement
a CRNA/SRNA mentoring program. A series of planning meetings
were held, a mentoring coordinator (MC) was appointed,
and a mentoring task force was convened. Corporate sponsorship
(Glaxo-Smith-Kline) provided an unrestricted educational
grant for the program which included a Mentor/Clinical
Educator CE workshop. Based on current literature, a
mentoring questionnaire was developed and distributed
to all first year SRNAs at the University of Pittsburgh
Nurse Anesthesia Program and to potential CRNA mentors
at primary UPMC clinical sites. The MC conducted an informational
session with the 1st yr students to describe the program
and distributed questionnaires and contracts (the contracts
stipulate a minimum of once a month contact throughout
the 28 months of the program). The mentoring/clinical
education workshop developed for the CRNA group included
lectures on the definition of mentoring, key mentor concerns,
student learning styles, normative modeling, and the
elements of effective clinical evaluation. Five AANA
CE credits were earned through attendance. Mentor guidelines
and expectations were distributed to all conference attendees
along with mentoring contracts. Within 2 weeks of this
meeting, SRNA/CRNA pairs were assigned according to key
traits and interests identified through the questionnaires.
All parties were notified of the pairing via email. The
MC conducts ongoing monitoring of mentor/mentee pairs
via phone and email contacts. An anonymous survey of
both 1st and 2nd year students is being conducted to
investigate differences in the student experience before
and after implementation of the formal CRNA/SRNA mentoring
program. This survey will be implemented again at the
end of year 1 and year 2. A separate survey will be utilized
to evaluate CRNA mentor perceptions of the experience
at the end of year 1 and 2.
Outcomes:
- A total of 35 CRNAs participated
in the educational workshop with 5 CE credits awarded.
- Responses
by students within the new program have been highly favorable
with numerous anecdotal reports of the benefits of a close
CRNA/SRNA mentoring relationship. Example: Bolstered by mentor
support, two first year students have identified problematic
clinical supervision situations with the result of immediate
program intervention resulting in a positive educational experience.
- An anonymous survey
of all students is now being conducted to investigate differences
in the student experience before (2nd year SRNA) and after
(1st year SRNA) implementation of the program.
- Interim monitoring of
the program by the MC documents consistently positive feedback
from both mentors and students with no CRNA/SRNA pair reassignments
required.
