FORT HOOD, Texas – Army Medicine’s advance labor and deliver nursing students recently helped Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center’s staff and medical providers update their educational resume during the student’s Feb. 6-7 panel presentation on topics ranging from fetal alcohol syndrome and cystic fibrosis in pregnancy to maternal obesity and cervical insufficiency.
The panel presentations rodeo, based on a 20-page in-depth research paper, is the highlight of Army Medicine’s only 16-week training program for nurses specializing in labor and delivery and ultimately earning the Army destination of 66G. It’s also a bonus for CRDAMC medical staff members who receive Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Credits for reviewing each display.
According to Maj. Kimberly Rosenbaum, who serves as deputy director of the Obstetric/Gynecologic program, the panel presentations are not only valuable in the clinic setting, but also are a timesaver.
“There are so many little things changing all the time, so it’s impossible to keep up with everything that’s out there,” said Rosenbaum, who said on the average, there is a 7-year lag from research to practice. “Something like this is great because it helps our nurses and all of our healthcare providers know the latest evidence-based research and put them into practice, as well as provide them with opportunities to talk to the subject-matter experts who researched and created the poster boards. It saves so much time for a nursing staff.”
First Lt. Kristin Monahan chose her topic because of a family connection to cystic fibrosis.
“My cousin has a daughter with cystic fibrosis, so I wanted to learn more about it,” said Monahan, who learned through her research that the life expectancy is increasing for women with cystic fibrosis who choose to have children. “Women with cystic fibrosis are becoming more and more common, so my research will help provide guidance to my peers and coworkers on the specialized needs of women during and after delivery.”
Rosenbaum, who holds multiple certifications, said topics are chosen based on interest and available research.
“There could be tons of research on some topics and limited research on other topics,” said the board-certified lactation consultant. “It’s not easy evaluating it because of the mountains of evidence they need to shift through to find the meat.”
That wasn’t the case for First Lt. Veronica Mora who chose “Methods of Protecting the Perineum.” Most of the research she discovered was either contradictory or, for example, biased information from a device manufacturer. That was the catalyst that drove her to dig deeper for answers she said.
“Preventing vaginal wall tearing during childbirth was a common question and general concern among new mothers,” said Mora, who now, as a subject-matter expert, will be able to educate and share that knowledge with other labor and delivery nurses.
Overall, the experience for both the 66G nurses and CRDAMC staff members is value added to Army Medicine beneficiaries, said Rosenbaum.
“This increases the readiness and care given to our beneficiaries because our nurses and providers are learning the latest evidence-based on selected topics,” she said, adding that no matter how obscure or common the incident, patient care is improved with having subject-matter experts in Army Military Treatment’s delivery rooms.
Although Capt. Shannon Eoute, who commands A Co., CRDAMC Troop command, is currently in an administrative role, she said she still found the panel presentations helpful.
“The Poster Board Evidence-Based Practice Rodeo is a great educational forum for healthcare providers of various realms,” said Eoute. “It exposes us to conditions we might have never seen or heard of prior thus expanding our knowledge of women's health. After attending the rodeo I can say I feel more confident with identifying red flags on initial assessments of my patients. Picking up key indicators early on in the game can save the health and life of both mom and baby.”