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IPPL Clinical Policy and Practice October Round-up: Dynamic Health Updates + Auto-generated Checklists + CPS Guides: Transfusion Medicine – Blood Product Administration + Breast Cancer Awareness Month + Occupational Therapy Month + World Psoriasis Day

IPPL Clinical Policy and Practice round-up posts keep you informed about implementation and use of Dynamic Health at Nova Scotia Health, highlight any new priority projects and events, and updates to our Workplace Notes and Custom Workplace Skills. We’ll also highlight new publications we’re supporting and maintaining including policies, clinical practice support guides, clinical resources on the intranet and clinical learning modules.

Updates: Workplace Notes and Custom Workplace Skills, Transfusion Medicine – Blood Product Administration Clinical Practice Support (CPS) Guides

We receive feedback submissions on an ongoing basis through the Suggestions for Skills form and through partnerships with departments and teams. This month, the customizations below have been published.

New Workplace Note

• Caring for Patients With Postoperative Ileus
• Communicating With Patients Who Are Depressed
• Inserting a Nasopharyngeal Airway in Adults
• Managing Pain in Adults
• Managing Pain in Older Adults
• Managing Post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome
• Performing Venipuncture in Adults
• Recognizing Signs of Pain and Discomfort in Patients With Dementia in Long-Term Care
• Triaging Patients With Communicable Diseases During a Pandemic

Revised Workplace Note

• Administering Fresh Frozen Plasma
• Administering IV Rho(D) Immunoglobulin
• Administering Platelets
• Administering Red Blood Cells to Adults
• Administering Red Blood Cells to Newborns
• Administering Red Blood Cells to Pediatric Patients
• Assessing Pain in Older Adults
• Managing a Hypocalcemia Transfusion Reaction
• Recognizing and Responding to Anaphylactic or Allergic Transfusion Reactions
• Using Blood Filters
• Administering IV Immunoglobulin
• Supporting Caregivers of Patients With Cancer
• Warning Third Parties of a Threat by an Adult Patient (Duty to Warn)

Reviewed: No Workplace Note

• Assessing Clinical Competence
• Caring for Patients in the OR Receiving Regional Anesthesia
• Inserting a Urinary Catheter During Labor
• Preventing Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Postoperative Patients
• Removing a Foreign Body From the Nose
• Using a Numeric Pain Rating Scale

Custom Workplace Skill

• PACU: Assisting with Endotracheal Extubation in Adults

Auto-generate Checklists with Dynamic Health

Did you know that skills within Dynamic Health have an associated Checklist function that you can use in practice and for instructing new staff and learners? If you’re updating procedures and need associated competency checklists for documentation, save yourself some time and adopt this function. The Checklist function is available for all skills in Dynamic Health, including any Custom Workplace Skills we create.

Let's say you are interested in precepting a fellow health care provider using the Dynamic Health Custom Workplace Skill PACU: Assisting with Endotracheal Extubation in Adults:

1. Navigate to the skill through Dynamic Health by searching “PACU Extubation” (1), navigating to Skills > Your Workplace, or through the direct Skill link (above).
2. From the Skill menu, select Checklist (2).
3. Select the printer icon to the upper right of the Checklist (3).
4. Select the sections to include in the Checklist (Pre-procedure Steps, Procedure Steps, Post-procedure Steps), or Select All (4).
5. Select Print (5). Note that the printable version of this checklist contains a form to allow you to record evaluator and examinee names and signatures, date and pass/fail status as appropriate.
6. Choose to print a physical copy or to export a PDF to your computer, depending on your settings and needs.

CPS Guides: Transfusion Medicine – Blood Product Administration

The Blood Product Administration Policy and Procedure NSHA: CL-BP-030; IWK-625 has been revised, effective as of October 1, 2024. We supported our Transfusion Practice Coordinator and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine colleagues with building a resource guide that helps make accessing blood product administration resources easier and is embedded within the updated policy. All blood product guidelines, product monographs, the Competencies for Safe Transfusion Tool, Adverse Events Algorithm have also been updated to align with the revised policy and procedure.

This project is a great example of collaborating across the organization to build and update a knowledge support resource that is easily accessible to all health care providers that work for or interact with Nova Scotia Health. It’s also a great example of clinical practice guidance and competency being created outside of the content we adopt from Dynamic Health. We’re ready to help you customize solutions where practice or organizational gaps exist versus the content we can access through our Dynamic Health subscription.

Health Promotion in October and Dynamic Health Topics

October 2024 marks the promotion of:

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Occupational Therapy Month
• World Psoriasis Day

In recognition of these health promotion events, we encourage you to engage with the curated list of Dynamic Health content below.

If you spot any Skills below that you feel need a Workplace Note, consider being a reviewer! Fill out our Suggestions for Skills form with your notes and we will get in touch!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

• Disease & Condition Overviews
  • Breast Cancer, Female
  • Breast Cancer, Male
• Signs & Symptoms
  • Breast Nodule
  • Arm Edema
  • Nipple Discharge, Adult
  • Breast Dimpling
• Skills
  • Caring for Patients After Mastectomy
  • Educating Patients About Mammography
• Patient Handouts
  • How to Perform a Breast Self-examination
  • Breast Cancer in Women
  • Breast Cancer in Men

Occupational Therapy Month

• Disease & Condition Overviews
  • Lower Extremity Amputation, Adult
  • Hip Osteoarthritis
  • Spinal Cord Injury, Adult
• Signs & Symptoms
  • Activity Intolerance, Adult
  • Muscular Weakness, Adult
  • Muscle Atrophy, Adult
  • Waddling Gait
• Skills
  • Positioning and Exercising a Residual Limb: Physical and Occupational Therapy
  • Shrinking and Shaping a Residual Limb: Physical and Occupational Therapy
  • Measuring for a Manual Wheelchair: Physical and Occupational Therapy
  • Educating Older Adults About Fall Prevention: Physical and Occupational Therapy
• Clinical Practice Supports
  • Occupational Therapy Practice
• Patient Handouts
  • How to Choose and Use a Wheelchair
  • Exercises to Help Prevent Falls
  • Phantom Limb Syndrome

World Psoriasis Day

• Disease & Condition Overviews
  • Psoriasis
• Signs & Symptoms
  • Scaly Skin, Adult
  • Papular Rash, Adult
  • Pruritus, Adult
• Skills
  • Using Ultraviolet Light Therapy
  • Administering Topical Medication
  • Assisting With Therapeutic Bath
• Patient Handouts
  • Psoriasis

IPPL Clinical Policy and Practice

Gloria Connolly, RN, BScN, NCA, WOCC(c), GNC(c)
Clinical Nurse Educator
Interprofessional Practice and Learning

Leah MacDonald, RN, BSc, BScN
Professional Practice Leader
Interprofessional Practice and Learning, ERIN Network

Katie McLean
Librarian Educator
Interprofessional Practice and Learning, ERIN Network Hub, Library Services

Margaret Poitras
Policy Lead
Policy Office

Valorie Shaddick, BNRN, CCNP, CVAA (c)
Clinical Nurse Educator
Interprofessional Practice and Learning

Ann Slaunwhite
Library Technician
Interprofessional Practice and Learning, Library Services