Bill Klaproth (Host): This is Today in Nursing Leadership, a podcast from the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. I am Bill Klaproth, and this episode is sponsored by the Nightingale Education Group. Visit them at nightingale.edu. With me is Bonnie Fecowicz and Kristine Jones-Pasley, as we talk about upskilling and reskilling the nursing workforce with microlearnings. Bonnie, welcome.

Bonnie Fecowicz: Welcome. Thank you, Bill, for having us. We will enjoy talking to you about a serious problem, the nursing shortage.

Host: Okay. Yeah, looking forward to hearing that. Kristine, welcome.

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Thank you, Bill. I'm so excited to be here to speak with you.

Host: Yeah. Well, thank you both. This is really going to be fun. I really appreciate your time today. So Bonnie, you were just talking about nursing shortage. Let's start with you. When we talk about upskilling and reskilling the nursing workforce with microlearnings, can you explain that to us and what problems are we addressing with that?

Bonnie Fecowicz: In today's nursing workforce, we have been educating nurses as nurse specialists. And that's very admirable, and that's what a nursing school should be doing. When you transition into your place of employment, you may need some sort of specialized training to help you with the advantage of caring for a particular type of patient. I'll use an example for someone maybe with mental health or behavioral health concerns. There is a specialty that you should learn and understand so that when you enter into that workforce, you are feeling comfortable and successful with the patients. So, that's how a microlearning or a microcredential can support getting your readiness to be a skilled employee.

Host: And that helps with the evolving job market too. You're always preparing yourself for what's coming or the changes that are coming. Would that be right, Bonnie?

Bonnie Fecowicz: Absolutely. And even as you want to grow in your career that you might have entered as an entry level nurse and maybe you want to transition into intensive care or dialysis, what additional learnings would you need that would better prepare you for that specialty?

Host: So Kristine, talk to us about what you've done then. How have you addressed this issue and what have you put in place to talk about this?

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Well, Bill, to address this, Nightingale Education Group has started our EvolvED Section. And we are dealing with continuing education to help with the reskilling and upskilling, really helping to help the nursing community and our partners in making sure that they have readily available relevantly skilled nurses that reflect their community. And so with that, we have created microcredentials, microlearning. So, let me explain what a microlearning is versus a microcredential.

Host: Yeah. Thank you.

Kristine Jones-Pasley: So, a microlearning is a short focused learning experience. It's about five to seven minutes long. Some people will do 10 minutes, but we're fine that five to seven is just right. And so with that, those microlearnings can lead to a microcredential, which is either a digital badge or a certificate that outlines an achievement in a skill. And so with that, that helps with the generalist nurse who comes out of nursing school who, yes, you have the science of nursing, our EvolvEd is trying to help with the art of nursing. How do we go about if I want to work with the older population? "Hey, we have a microlearning that could probably help you with that." Not even probably, I know we do. If you're in rural health, "I want to work in rural health." Rural health has a different atmosphere, client-patient look than urban. And so, how can we help you with that? We have a rural health microcredential. And so, that's what it is. It's really focused on a specific area or topic versus just the generalist degree that you may get in nursing school.

Bonnie Fecowicz: I just wanted to add on to that, Kris, is when nurses, if you come out of an academic medical center or a community hospital, you have a large support system behind you. You have teams of cardiac arrest support, IV teams. When you go to a rural hospital, it is almost as if you're in a totally new atmosphere of Nursing where you have to wear multiple hats. You have to rely on yourself or just a few team members, and it can be overwhelming and not feeling successful. So, if we can expose nurses to understanding the uniqueness of rural health, then they won't feel that they're going to some small hospital because in our world, not everyone lives in an urban or large area.

And our school is very positioned to help in Alaska, in rural areas of Montana, et cetera. How do you educate nurses there? We need them to work at these small hospitals and shouldn't every person who lives in a rural area have access to the healthcare that you would if you lived in Boston, Chicago, New York, et cetera? So, that's what the uniqueness of our school is to help with that transition.

Host: So, these microlearnings, you're not asking too much time from the person either. Time is so precious. So in this short amount of time, you're able to educate them to get them the training they need. So when they go into a rural healthcare environment, they're prepared. So, is that the thought behind this?

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Yeah. The thought behind it is five to seven minutes, you can go on a quick break. I know nurses, they're like, "A break? Yeah right." But you can do a quick break or you're driving to the hospital or the facility, you can listen in and be like, "Oh, okay, let me listen in and then I can actually complete the activity once I park." That's a game changer. Not everybody has time. Time is of the essence right now and no one has enough time to do like an hour here, an hour and a half there.

Host: And on demand too. So, it fits their schedule.

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Yes. That is key. And also for our partners, it can help with increased retention rates. People feel like they're learning, they can upskill and do different things.

Host: Yeah. Well, I could see somebody being a lot more confident going into an environment that they're not used to because of the microlearnings using the same rural healthcare. I grew up in a Chicago area. "I went to school, I went to a big university, and I'm going into a rural-- oh my gosh, this is a whole different environment. At least with the microlearnings, I can prepare myself for what I'm going to, so I can provide the best care and really feel confident going there," yes?

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Yes.

Bonnie Fecowicz: Yes. And the words in nursing we'd use is a transition to practice, right? We're bridging your urban experience and bridging transitioning them to a rural practice.

Host: Yeah. So, for a nurse leader listening to this podcast, what do you feel are the key takeaways from these microlearnings, Bonnie?

Bonnie Fecowicz: Well, as a chief nurse, in my career, nurses sometimes are cookie cutters when they're coming out of school. And they can take an exam really well. But if I'm working in a cardiac unit or psychiatric unit, obstetrical unit, it's a different culture, it's a different exposure. And I would've loved if I could have found a new hire, a new graduate that had some of this on their belt.

Ideally, as a chief nurse, even as management, if when they came out of school, they had some sort of microlearning about management because it does not take you long in today's world that you become a charge nurse or a nurse manager. In the hospitals, you don't have time to teach all of those skills. So, what an asset it would be if you could have some of these microcredentials.

I will validate everything Kris said. As a nurse, we know from studies that one way people will stay if they feel invested in; number two, if they feel respected; and three, if there's meaning to their work. So by exposing additional learning, guidance, support, and through upskilling their current workforce, you create loyalty. Loyalty is demonstrated as an outcome with retention. And we are hearing from many, because we're across the nation, and we have learners, that's our students in all 50 states, and we are hearing from our partners in about 30 plus states that they can hire nurses, they can't retain them.

So, any nurse leader listening to this podcast, if you want to stop the revolving door, reach out to us. We can come and assess and see if we have any solutions to your problems. And we think we do.

Host: That's a microlearning right there. Bonnie just dropped the knowledge on us. Yes, she did. So, I love what you said there. People will stay, they feel supported if they're invested in, if they're respected and they find meaning in their work. So, I think that's really important. What you said there in these microlearnings to your earlier point is it kind of jumpstarts their learning. They're evolving as a nurse into potentially becoming a nurse leader. Would that be right, Kristine?

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Yeah. That would be right. I'm an educator. I'm not a nurse. And so, I work with Bonnie on helping bridge that gap. My background is business education. So, you know, managers, leadership, that's all that we really talk about for the most part when it comes to business.

And so, looking at like those nurse leaders and different practices, I'm like, "Okay, let's change it up a bit. Why don't we do the little short microlearning and see if it'll work?" If you are a new leader and you don't know how to have those difficult conversations, here's a microlearning on that to deescalate a situation with nurses on the same team. Here's a microlearning on that. So, those are the things that we're trying to do.

Host: I can see how valuable that would be if you find yourself in a situation you've never been in, how the microlearning can help you address that situation.

Bonnie Fecowicz: It gives you a foot up. And Kris, with her development of instructional design, introduces the confidence that nurses need, demonstrates the competence that they need. And more importantly, when she talks about the art of nursing, the compassion that they need. Because when people are not feeling well, they're not their best selves. And they really need a compassionate nurse at their bedside. I would want that.

Host: So true. So very true. So as we wrap up, I want to thank you both for being here today. I appreciate it. Bonnie, let me start with you. Anything else you want us to know about the. Nightingale Education Group?

Bonnie Fecowicz: Well, the Nightingale Education Group, I like to describe it as kind of a large umbrella that has a significant part is the Nursing Nightingale College, but also we have Kris's group, that EvolvEd. We are part of the solution group, which is workforce development, and the third is our innovation group. That creates this creative curriculum that today's nurses need and have not been getting in a traditional format. So, I appreciate the time, Bill. It's a pleasure.

Host: Yeah, no, my pleasure having you here, Bonnie. Thank you. Kristine, how about you? Final thoughts and any other thing you want to add about the Nightingale Education Group?

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Well, I wholeheartedly agree with everything Bonnie just said, but I want to let our listeners know that Nightingale College is about the science of nursing. We can get you there with associates, bachelors, masters, our EvolvEd, our solutions group. We're trying to help with the art of nursing, getting those soft skills, getting those more refined skills that are needed to help transition to practice.

Bonnie Fecowicz: I have one last piece that I don't think, Kris, you and I have exposed. What we pride ourselves in is educating people who look and act like they're communities. So, I had the privilege of getting to the Arctic Circle and spoke with some learners up there. And for me who comes from New England to go to the Arctic Circle, the patients would not have trust in me because I don't understand their cultural richness of using seal fat as a medicinal way of keeping warm in the winter. So, we value very much educating nurses who look and act like they're communities, because that's how I would trust you if I thought you understood me. And that's what we're very, very focused on. So even in our school, our diversity is 70% of our students are from diverse, because we want them to be looking like the people they take care of.

Host: And that builds that trust for sure. So if anybody wants to learn more, nightingale.edu. They can learn all about your programs and the microlearnings and how they can work with you, right?

Bonnie Fecowicz: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Host: They can learn it all there. Well, thank you both for your time today, Bonnie and Kristine. Thank you so much.

Kristine Jones-Pasley: Thank you.

Bonnie Fecowicz: Thank you.

Host: You bet. And once again, that is Bonnie Fecowicz and Kristine Jones-Pasley. And for more information, please visit aonl.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. And check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is Today in Nursing Leadership. Thanks for listening.