ICN TELENURSING

NETWORK

Isabel Amélia Costa MendesBrazil

Biography

• Nurse

• Full Professor at University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing (EERP-USP)

• Researcher

• Director – WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development

• Secretary-General, Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery Development

Telenursing in Brazil

• Pioneer in Brazil: Study and Research Group on

Communication in the Nursing Process (GEPECOPEN-

EERP-USP), year 2000

• Initial project: “Virtual Nursing, Research & Distance

Education, Human Resource Training & Development”

• Funded by Brazilian public research funding agency

CNPq

Telenursing in Brazil• Development of a video, audio and data communication

system, used for simultaneous transmission and reception of multimedia information between two institutions – nursing college and teaching hospital – to support research and innovations in nursing teaching

• Result: incorporation of videoconferencing into undergraduate nursing teaching as a support resource for in-class teaching in clinical teaching situations between laboratories at the same institution and between the school and other health institutions in São Paulo state

Telenursing in Brazil

• Besides undergraduate teaching, in 2002,

videoconferencing technology was used and tested to

promote in-service education to nursing workers

• Conclusion: videoconferencing as an important tool to

speed up and improve the dynamics of permanent

nursing education

Telenursing in Brazil

• Evolution in computer and educational technologies

GEPECOPEN felt the need to incorporate a virtual

learning environment into its projects, with a view to

expanding in-service education and giving professionals

access to learning contents at any time, independently

from the limitations of their work routine

Telenursing in Brazil

• Proposal to expand telenursing project “Researchers

joining for Permanent Health Education: developing

competencies, producing evidence, promoting change

and innovation in health services”

• Funded by Brazilian Ministry of Health – Health Work

and Education Management Secretary

Telenursing in Brazil

• Data network and equipment infrastructure to link up four

health units with the university for educative actions

• Each unit received a work station: “thin client” (terminal

for access to virtual learning environment), keyboard,

monitor, mouse and a multipoint videoconferencing

station

Telenursing in Brazil

• Instructional design for in-service education programs

and associated research: contents addressed in four

distinct phases:

– 1. Survey of conditions to perform procedures and background

knowledge on themes through participant and non-participant

observation (for technical procedures) or questionnaires

(theoretical contents) at the Health Units.

Telenursing in Brazil

– 2. Theoretical-practical activities for workers in the virtual

learning environment.

– 3. Theoretical-practical activities for workers through multipoint

videoconferencing virtual meetings.

– 4. On-site theoretical-practical evaluation.

• All program activities developing during workers’ work

shift.

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• Pictures:

Work station for access to virtual learning

environment

Videoconferencing session between EERP-USP and

one of the units at 21km from the University, training

on hand washing.

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Picture 1- Nursing worker accessing the virtual learning environment during her work shift

Picture 2- Videoconferencing equipment already connected with clinical practice laboratory at EERP-USP

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Picture 3 – Professor at EERP interacting with workers at the Health Unit

Picture 4 – Practical demonstration of Hand Washing procedure by videoconferencing

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• Besides permanent education programs, GEPECOPEn

created an elective subject on Telenursing in 2006.

• Offered every other year in the second semester to

bachelor’s degree and teaching diploma nursing

students at a Brazilian public university.

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• Aim: present scenario of technological advances in

informatics and telecommunication, with a view to

students’ adaption to the reality of technology use in

health care and education.

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• Priorities of GEPECOPEn Telenursing projects until now:

– viable didactical and medical-hospital infrastructure to develop

educative actions;

– Informatics, audiovisual and network infrastructure essential for

permanent education programs and

– infrastructure to produce high-quality didactical material for

educative actions.

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• Focus and main area of interest: tele-education in

nursing

• Goal:

– Contribute to the development of educative and training

programs for health professionals

iamendes@eerp.usp.br