Primary care nursing is more essential than ever before. Promoting wellness, assessing population groups, and helping our clients prevent, as well as live well with, chronic conditions are nurse-led activities in primary care. The University of Utah College of Nursing has developed 13 online, Nursing Contact Hour approved modules directed at enhancing primary care nursing knowledge and skills.
Once the modules are completed you will receive a Digital Badge issued by the University of Utah. A digital badge is an electronic verification of skills and knowledge specific to a topic. The digital badges you will receive are all focused on primary care nursing skills and knowledge and document your learning and skills. Use a digital badge on your social media to share your accomplishment with others or use your badge within an electronic resume to show employers you have enhanced RN skills in primary care.
The modules help you develop interpersonal skills with your clients through content such as promoting positive behavior change or advanced care planning. The modules also help you develop the 'business case' for nursing in primary care with content such as managing panels, assessing and stratifying risk and exploration of billing appropriate for nurse-led encounters. Each module is fully online and takes 3-4 hours for participants to complete. Progress through a module begins with a short demographic survey, followed by videos and readings, a 10 point content quiz, and an exit survey. Successful completion is earned by an 80% or higher quiz score and completion of an exit survey. Each module is awarded nursing contact hours and documentation of the hours and completion via a digital badge.
If you are interested in accessing the modules, please access them through the College of Nursing Canvas Catalog.
AUCH RN-Led Training Series
Session 1 (10/20/21)- Making a Case for RNs and Cycle Time, presented by Faith Jones
-View recording HERE
-View slides HERE
Session 2 (11/18/21)- Advanced Care Planning, presented by Faith Jones
-View recording HERE
-View slides HERE
NEPQR 2021 Retreat- "Primary Care Transformation: The Role of the Registered Nurse"
- Session 1: "Burnout and Healing in the Face of a Global Pandemic", Presented by Benjamin Anderson, MBA, MHCDS
- Session 2: "The Value of the Registered Nurse in Primary Care is Three-Fold: to the Patient, the Provider, and the Practice", Presented by Faith Jones, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
- Session 3: "Primary Care Transformation in Utah", Presented by Linda Edelman, Brenda Luther, Sue Chase-Cantarini, and Larry Garrett
- Session 4: "Transforming Primary Care Nursing", Presented by Beth Ann Swan, PhD, RN, FAAN
- Session 5: Curriculum Sustainability Working Session, Led by Beth Ann Swan and Brenda Luther
- View recording HERE
Primary Care Nursing Roles & Responsibilities in Rural & Underserved Populations Webinars (held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 12 p.m. MT)
- 1/26/21- What is Practicing at the Top of your Licensure as a Primary Care Nurse?
- 2/17/21- Nurses Role in Transitional Care: Uncovering the Unknowns of Being at Home for your Patient
- 3/17/21- Annual Wellness Visit
- 4/21/21- Advanced Care Planning
- 5/19/21- Nurse-Led Chronic Care Management: Examples of HTN in Two Clinics
COVID-19 Open Forum for Rural Facilities- Comagine Health
RNs in Primary Care - Josie Moosman, Clinical Manager and RN at the Wayne Community Health Center
The annual well-woman clinic visit is a planned appointment with a trained registered nurse designed to help the woman manage her overall health. In these educational modules, you will learn to discuss preventative care and counsel on ways your client can improve their health. Additionally, you will learn how to perform preventative services, screen for potential chronic health-related conditions, and give your client the opportunity to discuss their overall health. Your training to be able to complete a yearly well-woman exam helps your clinic by decreasing the burden on primary care providers to complete these exams. RNs working within the interprofessional team enhance access to screening and care, provide cost-effective care and ultimately improve the satisfaction of both providers and our clients as well as bring in extra revenue to the clinics. Protocols approved by the interprofessional team help outline the scope of care and the process of care for the RN. These modules have been created by fellow RNs with years of experience completing well-woman exams, Kellie Morrow and Leslie DiVall.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that impacts a person’s memory, thinking and language skills, and eventually the ability to complete simple tasks. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States with more than 5 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s and as many as 16 million by 2050.
Amongst seniors, 82% say it is important to have their memory or thinking checked, yet only 16% report receiving a regular assessment. Screening tools such as the Mini-Cog© may be used during the Annual Wellness Visit. If the results from the Mini-Cog© suggest additional screenings or if a patient or their family requests a cognitive assessment an appointment should be made for a Cognitive Assessment and Care Planning Services encounter. A registered nurse, working within the interprofessional team, can perform most of the assessment and screening requirements associated with this encounter and provide it in a cost-effective manner while improving the satisfaction of both patients and providers. The registered nurse may also act upon the results of the assessment and screening to begin the care planning process and the identification of appropriate resources for the patient and their family. (Source: Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Available at Alz.org/facts)
The videos associated with this webpage (see below) show a registered nurse completing the assessment and screening portions of a Cognitive Assessment and Care Planning Services encounter. The first video shows the history taking component, the second shows the assessment and screening and the third shows the care planning. In each video, the registered nurse uses anywhere from one to many assessment/screening tools and these tools are included with each video for you to download.
Video 1: Taking History
The patient’s son has called the clinic requesting an assessment about his father who lives alone in a rural community. He has received reports that his father has been seen wandering and getting lost. Additionally, his father has made several disturbing phone calls to him about people being in the house and how much this has been scaring him. The son has put cameras around the house but has not seen any people coming or going but has noticed his father wandering around the house at night. This video segment shows the nurse obtaining the initial history and background about the patient.
Video 2: Assessment & Screening
This video segment is the second of three videos showing a registered nurse conducting a cognitive assessment. As a reminder, the 1st video segment shows the registered nurse obtaining the history and background about the patient. This segment concentrates on the registered nurse obtaining objective and subjective data about the cognitive abilities of the patient utilizing an assortment of widely used screening tools.
Video 3: Care Planning
This is the final segment of a registered nurse conducting a cognitive assessment. The previous two segments show how to obtain a history and background as well as the registered nurse assessing cognitive abilities utilizing an assortment of screening tools. This segment shows the registered nurse starting a plan of care for the patient and his family.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a growing movement in the education, public and private sectors. DEI helps us embrace the diversity of peoples and cultures and work to make a concerted effort to reduce and eliminate equity gaps between genders, races, ethnicities, classes, and differently-abled individuals and communities. This course will help you learn the practice of inclusivity, help you examine bias and stereotypes and promote your practice of equity for marginalized population groups by purposefully including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized. This course aims to add to your life-long journey of identifying bias and discrimination to help overcome these. When you complete the course, you will automatically receive a digital badge which is an electronic representation of a certain skill set and attainment of competency.
Contact Us
General Inquiries
uunepqr@utah.edu
Linda Edelman, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN
NEPQR Project Director
linda.edelman@nurs.utah.edu
Harper Vander Hoek, MPH
NEPQR Program Manager
harper.vanderhoek@utah.edu