Background
Healthcare professionals perform many skills that require them to think and move their bodies to perform a task. Patients suffer if clinicians are unable to perform these psychomotor skills competently. Undergraduate student and novice nurses have trouble learning and performing psychomotor skills competently in clinical practice. For example, peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC), which means inserting a thin plastic catheter into a person’s vessel to give them medicine, blood or other fluids. This is a complex skill commonly taught in nursing education and used to treat people. PIVC first attempt success rates vary widely between novice and expert nurses resulting in patients enduring multiple painful procedures, treatment delays, and increased illnesses and deaths.

There is evidence that expert surgeons and athletes use a specific gaze, the Quiet Eye, which is essential to successful psychomotor skill performance. Through our research we know this gaze is used by expert nurses while performing peripheral intravenous cannulation and novices do not use it in the same way. We believe we can teach novices to use the Quiet Eye during this procedure dramatically increasing first attempt success rates, improving patient care, and decreasing health care costs. We are creating a Quiet Eye training package that we will sell around the world through our social enterprise.

Roles and Responsibilities
This opportunity is looking for individuals with lived experience of peripheral intervenous cannulation, sometimes called an IV, to join a CIHR and/or a University of Calgary Transdisciplinary Connector grant funding applications as a patient research partner.
If the project becomes funded, patient partners would be asked to join an Advisory Council and inform the project development, processes and progress. Opportunities to collaborate would be discussed with patient partners to learn interests and availability.
The project goal is to have robust patient, clinician, and health care decision maker involvement in this research to support the effective development, testing, and implementation of our innovative teaching process.

Timeline
The grant applications are due July 30, 2024. Patient partners will be asked to review the project proposal as well as write a Letter of Support. Our team will provide guidance and support to complete these tasks.
If successful, the projects would start December 1, 2024.

Compensation/Reimbursement
If funded compensation will be offered as per AbSPORU Patient Partner Appreciation Guidelines (here).
These are anticipated to be an online opportunity however reimbursement will be provided for any expenses incurred, such as travel and parking,  to attend in-person meetings or activities.

For more information or to express interest, please connect with

Shannon Parker
E parkers@ucalgary.ca
T 403-220-8854
nursing.ucalgary.ca