Technological Innovation in Nursing Education:
Pictured from left to right: Laura Patrick, Director of Bayada’s Savannah GA office, Robert Blessing, Valerie Sabol, Dean Donnelly
Valerie Sabol, PhD, ACNP-BC, GNP-BC, CCNS, CCRN and Robert Blessing, DNP, ACNP
both of the Duke University School of Nursing Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program
Valerie Sabol and Robert Blessing are lauded for the innovative approach they have developed to build competencies among Acute Care Nurse Practitioner students, an approach that mirrored real life and promoted intra-disciplinary teamwork through patient simulation. Students practiced caring for a simulated patient with acute, progressive clinical deterioration that exhibited subtle, moderate and obvious physiological cues. The exercise gave the Duke students realistic experience working with a team in a crisis situation and gave faculty an opportunity to evaluate students’ efforts in the areas of concurrent consideration of alternative diagnoses, evaluation of patient treatment response and team communication.
Technological Innovation in Practice Award:
Pictured from left to right: Laura Patrick, Director of Bayada’s Savannah GA office, Karen Adamson
Karen Adamson, MSN, WHNP-C
2009 graduate of Drexel University’s MSN for Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner in the Pueblo City & County Health Department of Pueblo, Colorado
Karen Adamson developed a public health program that uses social media to educate sexually active teens. The initiative uses teen-friendly tools like text messaging to provide answers to their anonymously-posted questions about contraception and STDs from a nurse practitioner within 24 hours.
Her approach has benefited both the teens of her community as well as health care providers that are using her tool to assess the community’s needs and design health education programs and materials for the vulnerable population. Adamson’s model is cost-effective, can be easily replicated in other communities and has the potential to impact the health of teens at a national level.