Tele-nursing

Researchers in the Department of Nursing together with colleagues in Georgia and Estonia are investigating the assessment of nursing students in the area of distant care (telenursing) through the use of simulations.

The practice of telenursing has become more common in the care of various populations and in various situations both in Israel and abroad. The interaction between the nurse and the patient is designed to improve the condition of the person seeking health care. Remote treatment through telenursing is challenging as the nurse has no visual or physical contact with the patient. Health workers must have well-developed clinical and interpersonal skills as well as the necessary knowledge and abilities in order to construct an image of the patient and provide appropriate treatment. The Corona pandemic has shown that remote medical treatment will be a major option in the future. Thus, it is important that nursing students be prepared for this eventuality. This universally accepted understanding has prompted the nursing department to develop a training program in this field. The implementation of the program and its assessment are expected to lead to its inclusion in the core studies of the nursing program.

The aims of the study:

• Examination of the necessary steps to develop a simulation-based training program in telenursing as part of the Nursing BA program.
• Development of the program and its assessment component.

The current study will have two phases:

1. Qualitative study to include in-depth interviews with lecturers in the Department of Nursing, trainers in the department’s Simulation Center and key officials in the Nursing Administration in the Israeli Ministry of Health in order to identify obstacles, attitudes and ways in which to develop the subject of simulations in telenursing.
2. Cohort study of third year nursing students to examine the level of their knowledge, sense of self-efficacy, telenursing clinical skills and readiness to practice telenursing at three points in time: before training, after training, 6 months after graduation.