Throughout the fall, members of the Partnership Grant have grappled with the increased professional and personal demands and significant stress of the second wave of COVID-19. At the same time, they have continued their commitment to this project. We are deeply grateful for their dedication and all the work they do in support of their teams, patients, communities, and our healthcare system.
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Executive Committee Update:
Our project's Executive Committee continues to meet weekly, virtually, to strategize, set priorities and timelines, review progress, and oversee administration and reporting for the project.
Our project has had an incredibly active few months. We are pleased to highlight our collective accomplishments since summer 2020. Together, we:
- presented the proposal for the online SBNH-L Program to the clinical partners.
- conducted two literature reviews, one on remote learning strategies, and one on the state of equity, diversity, and inclusion in nursing leadership and training.
- received full scientific and ethical approval at St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital.
- had 3 project-related abstracts accepted for oral presentations at the Canadian Health Workforce Virtual Conference 2020.
- confirmed the revised timeline for the SBNH-L Program delivery and evaluation.
- made great strides in the development of a new SBNH-Leadership scale for the evaluation activities.
- created an SBNH-L Mentorship Program Guide, as well as a complementary guide for mentors鈥� orientation
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Training Committee Update
A primary focus of the Training Committee over the past few months was the work of the Subcommittee on Remote Learning (update below). In addition, the committee continued to refine curriculum for the modules; consider how to embed equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) approaches within the content, processes and structures of the program; build out a framework and guidance document for mentors; and consider the many logistics of moving learning online.
The SBNH-L Mentorship Program Guide is nearing completion after multiple rounds of refinement under the careful guidance of Dr. Laurie Gottlieb and the Training Committee. This guide also benefitted from Kimberley Manning鈥檚 feedback concerning equity, diversity, and inclusion for SBNH-L mentorship. A complementary guide for mentors鈥� orientation was developed to facilitate mentors鈥� integration within their role; the orientation content and structure is currently being optimized for remote learning.
Following the completed mandate of the Subcommittee on Remote Learning, the Training Committee has transitioned to the instructional design phase, facilitated by Teaching & Learning consultant Michele Durrant.
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Subcommittee on Remote Learning
The Subcommittee on Remote Learning was convened in July 2020 and led by Annie Chevrier, with the mandate of developing and proposing an online modality for the SBNH-L training program. This mandate was completed in October, when the committee presented its proposal to the clinical site leads. The committee has proposed a hybrid learning program blending asynchronous and synchronous learning using the robust 捆绑SM社区 MyCourses platform, a Brightspace Learning Management System, and Zoom meetings. With the work of the Subcommittee now complete, the Training and Evaluation Committees will move into instructional design and program preparation.
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Story-Sharing Update:
In the last few months, our Executive Committee in discussion with the Training Committee and story-sharing site leads have made several key advancements re: story-sharing activities.
An update on the filming activities:
- Story-sharing activities at St. Mary鈥檚 hospital are on hold until Montreal鈥檚 red alert restrictions are lifted, and until research with humans is able to resume.
- After much consideration, the team has decided that story-sharing activities at SickKids are unable to proceed. This is due to the second wave of the pandemic and its impact on our overall timing and capacity.
An update on story-sharing integration into the SBNH-L Program:
- Michele Durrant, Laurie Gottlieb, and Fred Burril (COHDS) have collaborated to further develop a story-sharing facilitation approach for SBNH-L Program faculty and mentors;
- To ensure that the SBNH-L Program is able to meet its story-sharing objectives despite the uncertainty surrounding the filming, we are currently preparing alternative arts-based materials to integrate into the program:
- re-edits of the pilot footage shot at Holland Bloorview in 2017
- existing external resources (documentary, news media, photojournalism, etc.)
We would like to thank all of our partners who have been involved in the story-sharing decision-making for their flexibility, understanding, resourcefulness, and unwavering commitment to our project despite the trying circumstances brought on by the pandemic.
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Evaluation Committee Update
The work of the Evaluation Committee has been focused on the development of an SBNH-L scale and ongoing consultation with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) co-investigator Kimberley Manning to determine how to measure the EDI outcomes of the program. The SBNH-L scale development is currently undergoing numerous phases of content validation which have been approved by Concordia University鈥檚 research ethics board. Over the summer, an online focus group was conducted to reduce and refine the scale items with SBNH-L experts Heather Hart, Annie Chevrier, and Michele Durrant. The next stages of the scale development will consist of a content validation survey with several snowball samples to assess the clarity and relevance of the SBNH-L items. The Evaluation Committee will finalize the evaluation design and tools by December 2020.
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Knowledge Mobilization Committee Update
Three project-related abstracts were accepted for oral presentations at the Canadian Health Workforce Virtual Conference 2020. See details here.
The co-chairs of the Knowledge Mobilization Committee met in early October to assess the changes to be made to the Knowledge Mobilization plan due to the pandemic. They are evaluating the opportunities this time may provide, particularly to gather communities of practice from diverse regions to meet and collaborate over the shared experiences and challenges of the pandemic, as well as to reach broader audiences with remote teaching and learning opportunities. The committee co-chairs are actively recruiting two new members, as well as updating the existing KM plan. The full committee will meet in the winter to orient the new members and review the updated plan.
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IP, Agreement, and Ethics Committee Update
The IP, Agreement, and Ethics committee met in September to review their Terms of Reference, discuss authorship guidelines for publications coming out of the grant, and to discuss the shifting landscape due to COVID protocols in hospitals and the resulting changes to our story-sharing methodology. We received full scientific and ethical approval from St Mary鈥檚 Research Ethics Committee, but all activities are on hold as long as Montreal is designated a COVID-19 red zone. As mentioned above, story-sharing activities at SickKids will be unable to proceed due to COVID-19 protocols and the impact on the grant鈥檚 timeline. We are planning a December meeting with the clinical sites to review the checklist for REB submissions, as we move forward with the adjusted story-sharing activities and plan for the remote training program.
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Accolades & Accomplishments
Principal Investigator Dr. Laurie Gottlieb was appointed an inaugural Charter Fellow of the Canadian Nurses Association鈥檚 new Canadian Academy of Nursing, 鈥渢he highest honour for Canada鈥檚 most accomplished nursing leaders in clinical practice, education, administration, research, and policy.鈥� Congratulations, Laurie!
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Co-Investigators Marilyn Ballantyne and Pam Hubley were appointed inaugural Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Nursing. 鈥淭he Fellowship program recognizes and celebrates the most accomplished nurses in Canada and represents the highest honour for Canada鈥檚 nursing leaders.鈥� See the , see . Congratulations, Marilyn and Pam!
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Co-Investigator M茅lanie Lavoie-Tremblay is one of the (R茅seau de recherche en interventions en sciences infirmi猫res du Qu茅bec). Congratulations, M茅lanie!
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Partner Profiles
We have begun a series of profiles to introduce the members of the Partnership Grant and their varied and exciting professional backgrounds. Please enjoy the first two profiles, introducing Co-Investigators Marilyn Ballantyne and Pam Hubley.
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Closing
We continue to be inspired and energized by the flexibility, resilience, and unflagging dedication of this group amidst deeply challenging times. Many thanks to everyone involved in the project for their ongoing commitment to Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare as we have pivoted to new methodology and approaches, continually adapting to the landscape of the pandemic. We look forward to a productive and satisfying winter.