NUHS marks Nurses’ Day with inaugural nursing conference, launching several new ground-up initiatives from micro-learning modules to new Communities of Practice
Singapore — Since its inception in 2022, the Centre for Nursing Excellence (CoNE) has been serving as a one-stop learning centre to advance the professional practice of nurses at all levels at the National University Health System (NUHS). This year, immersive experiences and gamification are highlighted as the format for the cluster’s first CoNE conference, amid growing research that shows that the use of gamified learning among university-level medical and nursing students positively influences their satisfaction and motivation.
The conference, organised by CoNE and hosted in Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) on 23 July 2024, spotlights several pilot initiatives through a unique interactive and gamified conference format. More than 300 nurses participated to learn more about the various CoNE projects, from micro-learning on demand to an inter-institutional initiative known as Communities of Practice (CoP).
The conference, which is part of the cluster’s special celebrations for Nurses’ Day this year, showcases the work of CoNE, featuring timely topics in care innovation, professional development and learning for the nurses of tomorrow in an interactive, immersive event. The centre is part of the NUHS Academy, the first healthcare academy within a public healthcare cluster to be established through a tripartite collaboration to provide training opportunities to all job groups.
“CoNE aims to champion nursing excellence by beginning with the basics: listening to what nurses want to learn, how nurses want to learn, and how nurses can contribute to the conversation – all while balancing ever-changing societal healthcare needs in mind. Nursing practice is a lifelong endeavour and NUHS is committed to developing our nurses to be future-ready, today,” said Dr Catherine Koh, Group Chief Nurse, NUHS.
Understanding the needs of nurses in education
The Micro-learning on Demand for Enrolled & Registered Nurses programme (also known as MoDERN) was launched across the cluster this month, with its pilot series of micro-learning modules focused on integrated care. It aims to strengthen care continuity by equipping nurses with key skills for integrated care.
Ms Karie Choo, Chairperson of the CoNE Steering Committee, and a Nurse Educator at National University Polyclinics (NUP) shared, “MoDERN pioneers bite-sized, focused micro-learning to empower NUHS nurses and ignite learner motivation. We empathise with nurses who are time starved and feel too tired to learn, while recognising that nursing practice is constantly changing and we cannot cease to learn. This initiative allows our nurses to learn at their own pace, on the go, and in just five minutes per module.”
Other initiatives include fun learning through gamification, intended to supplement existing formal training to reinforce key concepts and important processes. Research has found that gamification is an effective active teaching strategy in nursing education, subduing learner stress and increasing motivation while encouraging critical and deeper learning in a non-threatening environment.
“We are increasingly aware that the way in which the next generation of nurses learn is different from how we used to learn. So, we utilise design thinking to look at how to engage younger nurses while keeping in mind the learning needs of different generations of nurses,” added Ms Choo.
The results are novel and inclusive games that nurses of all ages can learn and participate in, such as the “Happy Insulin” card game which puts a spin on the traditional “Happy Family” game, a claw machine Q&A, as well as a “Nursing Snake & Ladder” that introduces a tech element to the familiar “Snake and Ladder” game.
An inter-generational and inter-institutional learning community leading ground-up initiatives
CoNE currently comprises three inter-institutional Communities of Practice (CoPs) across the NUHS cluster: Nursing Research, Nursing Education and Advancing Nursing Practice. These CoPs and their initiatives play an integral role in driving nursing excellence by facilitating collaboration, knowledge sharing, and creative solutions. The CoPs are expected to double in size in the coming months, as CoNE ramps up participation among nurses across the cluster.
CoNE also recently conducted its pilot run of the NUHS Integrated Care Outreach for Nurses (ICON) programme at NUP in May 2024, which involved four nurses from National University Hospital, NTFGH, Alexandra Hospital and the NUHS Regional Health System Office. ICON is a peer-observational project for the mutual learning of care needs across the continuum of community, primary, acute and tertiary care, with the goal of improving seamless integrated care for patients.
The feedback gathered from nurses who underwent ICON will be integrated into the plans of the various CoPs, to equip nurses to better meet the nation’s healthcare needs.
Dr Koh said: “ICON aims to provide opportunities for our nurses to visualise and experience the care pathways that patients journey across NUHS and guide our nurses to pivot their roles from familiar episodic care to seamless integrated care. This allows them to develop balanced views and construct creative solutions to healthcare’s diverse needs.”
“The nurses of today care for our population within and beyond the walls of our various healthcare facilities. From the acute hospitals and into the homes of our patients, we aim to continue educating our nurses to be ready across the care continuum to look after the ill and as importantly, educate and advocate for preventive health in line with Healthier SG,” added Dr Koh.
To download the PDF version of the press release, click here.
