IPPL Clinical Practice and Policy digest posts summarize updates over the past month about:
- Clinical Policies, Care Directives, Guidelines and Learning Modules
- Get the latest on clinically relevant, local guidance published through policies, care directives, guidelines and/or learning modules.
- Identify competencies relevant to you/your team’s practice.
- Dynamic Health (DH)
- Stay informed about implementation and use of Dynamic Health at Nova Scotia Health, including recent updates to Workplace Notes and Custom Workplace Skills.
- Clinical Practice Support (CPS) Subject Guides
- Learn about recently published and updated CPS subject guides, where you/your team can find relevant resources across DH, policies, care directives, guidelines and learning modules. CPS subject guides also include Key Practice Points and additional educational and guidance resources to support implementation and competency maintenance.
Original posts on the above topics can be accessed by NS Health Employees through The Compass > Clinical Resources News.
Policies, Care Directives, Guidelines and Learning Modules
- NEW GUIDELINE: Management of Extravasation Events
- CL-SR-060 is supported by and includes several Dynamic Health (DH) skills. Leadership and Clinical Educators can find this new guideline, DH links and an educational poster for front line staff in the Vascular Access Clinical Practice Support subject guide.
- Please note: Extravasations of Systemic Therapy for Cancer medications are outside the scope of this guideline.
- LEARNING MODULES: Pathways for Electrocardiography (ECG), Archived and Revised Modules
- Resulting from the addition of the new Electrocardiography (ECG) page on the Nursing Skills and Procedures Clinical Practice Support subject guide, please note the following changes:
- Archiving of LMS modules around lead placement and adoption of Dynamic Health skills
- Creation of two learning pathways: Introductory and Interpretation
- As of May 20th, 2025, modules listed below have been developed, revised or archived, through the NS Health eLearning system (LMS – Medworxx).
New or Revised eLearning (LMS)
Course Title LMS Code Status Diabetes 1: Diabetes 101 0137 Revised Diabetes 2: Starting Insulin in Hospital 0138 Revised Insertion and Care of i-Gel Supraglottic Advanced Airway Device 1065 Revised Medication Independent Double Check 0203 Revised National Early Warning Score Series: Acute Care 1079 Revised Protections for Persons in Care 1285 News Transfusion Therapy: Administration and Adverse Events 0543 Revised to align with policy changes Transfusion Therapy: Transfusion 1 Blood Basics 0542 Revised to align with policy changes Archived eLearning and Replacement Resources
Archived Course Title LMS Code Replaced With Administration of Epinephrine in the Treatment of Anaphylaxis 0040 Coming soon:
- Policy: Management of Anaphylaxis
- Clinical Practice Supports Subject Guide: Management of Anaphylaxis
Delirium in the Elderly - Acute Care 0136 Enteral Feeds 0166 Enteral - Clinical Practice Supports: Nursing Skills and Procedures Infusion Pump Training - Kangaroo e-Pump 0206 Enteral - Clinical Practice Supports: Nursing Skills and Procedures
- Resulting from the addition of the new Electrocardiography (ECG) page on the Nursing Skills and Procedures Clinical Practice Support subject guide, please note the following changes:
- NEW POLICY: Allergy Skin Testing
- CL-AS-010 is supported by and includes several Dynamic Health (DH) skills. Leadership and Clinical Educators can find this new policy and DH links in the Allergy Testing Clinical Practice Support subject guide.
Dynamic Health Updates
- New Workplace Notes and Reviewed Skills
- New notes have been created for a range of skills, including but not limited to: Implanted Ports, Bolus Injections, PICC lines, Central Venous Catheters, Procedural Sedation, Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy and Post-operative Care.
- View the full list of New Workplace Notes and Reviewed Skills as of May 2025.
- Revised Workplace Notes
- Workplace Notes about a range of skills have been revised, including but not limited to: Medication Administration, Changing and Flushing/Locking PICC or CVAD, Removing Sutures, PPE, Blood and Fluid Warmers.
- View the list of Revised Workplace Notes as of May 2025.
- Custom Workplace Skills
- Dialysis: Administering Intra-Peritoneal (IP) Medication
- Dialysis: Blood Culture Collection from a Hemodialysis Central Venous Catheter
- Dialysis: Performing the Modified Shower Technique for Peritoneal Dialysis Dressing Change
- Dialysis: Sampling Peritoneal Effluent (Fluid) for Suspected Peritonitis
- Dialysis: Termination of a Hemodialysis Session in the Event of an Evacuation Procedure
- Dialysis: Warming Dialysate for Peritoneal Dialysis (Twin Bag or Cycler)
- Performing In-Vehicle Specimen Collection
Clinical Practice Support Subject Guides
- NEW
- UPDATED
Connect with Clinical Policy and Practice about this content update and opportunities to collaborate by emailing AskIPPL@nshealth.ca.
Find guidance about using Dynamic Health, setting up a personal account, exporting CE (Continuing Education) Credits, and more in the Dynamic Health Support guide.
IPPL Clinical Practice and Policy
Podcasts can be an excellent, convenient way for healthcare providers to stay current on valuable information for their field. Research shows that healthcare podcasts have great potential as tools for continuing education and professional development in the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare information (Kiernan et al., 2023).
Are you interested in listening to healthcare podcasts, but are not sure where to start or which ones to trust? This post is for you!
The following podcasts are from credible content creators, who engage and inform their audiences:
Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) Podcasts
Drs. Mojola Omole and Blair Bigham discuss advances and issues at the forefront of Canadian healthcare, including real stories of healthcare professionals and their patients.
Surgery 101
Surgery 101 provides brief introductions of surgical topics for medical students, with easily digestible 10- to 20-minute episodes broken into chapters and key points of the topic.
The Clinical Problem Solvers: Antiracism in Medicine Series
This podcast series from The Clinical Problem Solvers equips listeners from all healthcare backgrounds with tools to practice antiracism in their everyday practice.
Canadian Health Information Podcast
Host Avis Favaro provides in-depth conversations about Canadian healthcare with the people who know it best: those who work on the front lines or behind the scenes, and the patients accessing healthcare. From the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
White Coat Black Art with Dr. Brian Goldman
ER doctor Brian Goldman facilitates deep conversations with healthcare professionals and patients to explore what is and is not working in Canada’s healthcare landscape.
The Gritty Nurse Podcast
Canadian nurses Sara Fung and Amie Archibald-Varley tackle the raw realities of working in healthcare through gritty, humorous storytelling. They share experiences and offer stories of hope and resilience while amplifying voices traditionally silenced in healthcare spaces.
Calling All Nurses
A passionate group of newly retired Canadian nurses use their lived experience to help listeners navigate the challenges and opportunities of today’s nursing practice.
EyeCan Podcast: Canadian Lens on Ophthalmology
Hosted by Dr. Guillermo Rocha, Dr. Setareh Ziai, Dr. Mona Dagher, and Dr. Hady Saheb, this series examines all aspects of being an ophthalmologist in Canada. The hosts speak with leaders in the field about their lived clinical experiences and explore current techniques and technologies.
Frankly Speaking About Family Medicine
A weekly podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.
Emergency Medicine Cases
Providing education on emergency medicine for physicians, residents, students, nurses and paramedics.
Evaluating Healthcare Podcasts
How do I know if the information provided in healthcare podcasts is trustworthy and authoritative?
Following and listening to podcasts is an engaging way to learn and stay current, but you need to make sure the information you hear is credible and trustworthy. Whether you’re trying to decide what to listen to, or you’re already actively listening to something, keep these questions in mind:
If you are ever unsure of the quality of information being presented in a healthcare podcast, feel free to reach out to Library Services staff who are happy to discuss in a one-on-one consultation. Be sure to let us know which healthcare podcasts you enjoy listening to.
Happy listening!
References
Kiernan, M. A., Mitchell, B. G., & Russo, P. L. (2023). The power of podcasts: Exploring the endless possibilities of audio education and information in medicine, healthcare epidemiology, and antimicrobial stewardship. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology, 3(1), e98. https://doi.org/10.1017/ash.2023.178.
Selena MacDonald
Librarian Educator
Nova Scotia Hospital, Central Zone