Abstract
Background: Since 2010 McGrath Foundation has funded and placed 43 new dedicated metastatic McGrath Breast Care Nurse (mMBCN) positions across Australia. With no existing education program available, an innovative practicum was developed incorporating telepresence robot technology to educate new mMBCNs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Aim: To explore mMBCN, facilitator, and clinicians’ perceptions and experiences of robot-assisted learning as part of a pilot Metastatic Breast Cancer Nurse Education Program (MBCNEP) delivered in a clinical setting.
Method: Program facilitators (n=2) and clinicians (n=7) were interviewed pre and post the first intake of the MBCNEP. Participating mMBCNS (n=8) from all intakes of the MBCNEP were interviewed pre and post their 3-day practicum. Of these, n=6 participated in the program via the robot and n=2 participated in-person alongside another nurse in the robot. Interviews were conducted online, digitally recorded and transcribed. A realist approach to data analysis identified patterned responses and meaning across the data related to the research question.
Results: At baseline mMBCN participants reported uncertainty around the use of a new technology. Clinicians were concerned about how patients would perceive and interact with the robot in consults. All participants were positive about trialling the technology to facilitate nurse learning during the pandemic and reported the greatest benefit was accessibility to education without the economic or time implications of travel. The main issues reported by all participants were technical, relating to Wi-fi connection and robot battery life. mMBCNs who participated via the robot reported feeling ‘present’ and were able to communicate directly with patients and clinicians as if they were in the clinic.
Conclusion: The trial of telepresence robots to provide clinical education to remotely located nurses was largely acceptable to nurses and clinicians. Use of the technology for education purposes has continued beyond the pilot and is now in regular use to deliver the MBCNEP at Monash Health.
Aim: To explore mMBCN, facilitator, and clinicians’ perceptions and experiences of robot-assisted learning as part of a pilot Metastatic Breast Cancer Nurse Education Program (MBCNEP) delivered in a clinical setting.
Method: Program facilitators (n=2) and clinicians (n=7) were interviewed pre and post the first intake of the MBCNEP. Participating mMBCNS (n=8) from all intakes of the MBCNEP were interviewed pre and post their 3-day practicum. Of these, n=6 participated in the program via the robot and n=2 participated in-person alongside another nurse in the robot. Interviews were conducted online, digitally recorded and transcribed. A realist approach to data analysis identified patterned responses and meaning across the data related to the research question.
Results: At baseline mMBCN participants reported uncertainty around the use of a new technology. Clinicians were concerned about how patients would perceive and interact with the robot in consults. All participants were positive about trialling the technology to facilitate nurse learning during the pandemic and reported the greatest benefit was accessibility to education without the economic or time implications of travel. The main issues reported by all participants were technical, relating to Wi-fi connection and robot battery life. mMBCNs who participated via the robot reported feeling ‘present’ and were able to communicate directly with patients and clinicians as if they were in the clinic.
Conclusion: The trial of telepresence robots to provide clinical education to remotely located nurses was largely acceptable to nurses and clinicians. Use of the technology for education purposes has continued beyond the pilot and is now in regular use to deliver the MBCNEP at Monash Health.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 262 |
| Pages (from-to) | 155-156 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | S3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2023 |
| Event | Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2023 - Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia Duration: 1 Nov 2023 → 3 Nov 2023 Conference number: 50th https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17437563/2023/19/S3 (published abstracts) |
