• Nursing Innovation Grant

BSCN 2006 University of Alberta
Aurora College – Rural and Remote Nursing certificate
Diploma of Tropical Nursing 2010 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
MSC Nurse Practitioner 2017 Athabasca University

The Minor Procedure Workshop targets Nurse Practitioners who want to expand their scope as a front line professional. The procedures covered are commonly seen presentations in primary care but often referred to dermatology or ER. This workshop aims to increase skill levels of primary care providers, reduce referrals, patient wait times and save health care dollars.

Currently there is not another company offering the same type of comprehensive curriculum in Canada. These types of skills are often taught and transferred through professionals when clinical situations arise. The success of this depends on the mentor’s skill level and time available. Informal skill modelling can also be found on websites and platforms like YouTube, but do not offer adjacent evidence based theory and lack the opportunity for feedback.

This design of this virtual workshop makes it unique. We target all learning styles and use creative ways to conceptualize learning material. Our current in-person workshops are run with small groups to maximize our ability to give feedback and ensure people finish with confidence and skill. We plan to translate this type of support by offering office hours while participants move through online modules. This allows for real time feedback on technique and to answer questions on content.

I first developed this workshop based on gaps I saw in practice during my NP clinical rotations. I had been working in northern Alberta and learned how to do many necessary procedures as a community health nurse. I noticed that during my practicums, NPs and physicians were referring patients that required simple procedures out – for different reasons. Physicians didn’t have time built into their busy days for procedures, and NPs didn’t seem to have the confidence to perform the skills.

A need for minor procedures is commonly found in a primary care clinical setting (ex: treatment of ingrown toenails or skin biopsies) but these skills are not taught outside of basic suturing as part of the NP curriculum. In recent years I have had interest from government agencies and Ontario Universities to run my workshop to better prepare their new NP cohorts.

This project has already proved to be impactful to the nursing community. I developed this workshop in 2018 and since have educated 378 health care professionals on minor office procedures. I often receive emails from participants describing how valuable this course was and how useful it has been to integrate these skills into their practices.

My goal is to help nurses work to their full scope in advanced practice for the benefit of their patients. For example, when an NP can do a biopsy on a suspicious lesion on initial presentation we positively impact a volume of issues. These include reducing the number of referrals to dermatology, a reduction of wait times for patients, early diagnosis and cost savings for the health care system.

Nurse practitioners that are looking for continuing education opportunities or to add marketable skills to their resumes can register online for our on-demand virtual Minor Procedures Workshop.

Like our in-person workshop, this virtual offering is designed to address all learning styles and includes creative hands on exercises for each skill to allow participants to practice from home or the office. Kits including materials for theses exercises are mailed out with registration.

Once they have registered for the 8 module workshop they will be sent a personalized log-in and have immediate access to the first 2 modules. The additional modules will be delivered weekly, 2 modules at a time allowing the participant to complete the workshop within 4 weeks and have access to the content for one year.

As participants make their way through the workshop they are offered 1-on-1 dedicated coaching sessions with an instructor. The idea is that the virtual workshop mimics the quality of our in-person workshops where participants are given individualized feedback throughout the day helping to build their confidence. These sessions can benefit the users as a mentorship opportunity where they can review a plan of care with an instructor.

Each module will also have a fillable worksheet that users can print before starting the module and fill in as they move through the learning content. These worksheets are designed to act as a quick guide for future reference covering the main points outlined for each skill on one page. Users could also choose to fill in the worksheet at the end of the module as a knowledge retention exercise.

On conclusion of the workshop the participant will receive a letter of completion. Nurse practitioners who are having their registration funded by their work place often require this for compensation.

Once finished the 8 modules the NP will have extensive foundational knowledge and basic skill and judgment to incorporate these skills into practice.

Topics covered are: Anesthesia for procedures, comprehensive suturing including advanced techniques, ganglion aspiration, bursa aspiration, skin tag removal, sublingual hematoma, nail avulsion, skin biopsy (shave, punch, excisions), incision and drainage, epidermoid cyst excision, lipoma removal and consent and documentation.

Our innovation will ultimately be utilized by NPs in their own practices where they will be able to carry out additional skills safely, effectively and confidently for the benefit of their communities.

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