BORN-Beginnings of Obstetrics for Rural Nurses
A program conceived to help northern Alberta nurses learn about rural obstetrics is earning rave reviews from clinicians across the province.
Beginnings of Obstetrics for Rural Nurses (BORN), an online program with self directed learning modules, was created by obstetrical clinical nurse educators (CNEs) to help provide orientation for new-to-obstetrics Alberta Health Services’ North Zone nurses.
The program’s success recently led to a nomination for a Rhapsody Rural Healthcare Heroes Award, an annual award established by RhPAP to recognize rural healthcare providers that demonstrate superior commitment to their patients, healthcare team and community.
BORN was developed as a way to introduce and provide additional obstetric training options for nurses ranging from a half-day refresher course to nine days of learning. The program has different streams available to focus on various aspects of obstetrics from antenatal through to postpartum and has since been adopted by other areas in the province.
“The knowledge that the staff are learning the same curriculum allows for future planning knowing if someone has attended this I know what they have learnt and where they are in their knowledge,” comments Laureen Randall, a clinical educator at Canmore General Hospital, in her support of the nomination.
Jaclyn Zakresky, a CNE working in obstetrics and acute care in Peace River, says the standardized BORN program allows her to share the training with other instructors which in turn allows her to do additional staff training.
“It helps newly hired nurses to become prepared with the basic knowledge before they are thrown into the actual setting,” notes a course participant following the training.
Check out the full list of Rhapsody winners and nominees here.