NIFA

NIFA Improves Training for Novice Perioperative Nurses Using Customized Reporting

The National Institute of First Assisting (NIFA) is the recognized leader of Registered Nurse First Assisting (RNFA) training for perioperative nurses and the largest Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) training program in the United States, specializing in health care education specific to operating room nurses and APRNs since 1995.

NIFA has partnered with three colleges and their accredited nursing programs, making NIFA the United States’ largest trainer of RNFAs (Registered Nurse First Assisting), leading to the CRNFA exam. NIFA provides the APRN with an unparalleled hands-on training experience presented around the country to meet the increased need for expert-led training unique to the APRN’s role in surgery.

NIFA's Challenge

NIFA runs a course titled Nurse in Surgery Essentials (NISE), a nationally accredited course in the United States, in partnership with the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI) to train novice perioperative nurses.

NIFA uses a learning management system to deliver the online course, in which facilities (e.g. hospitals) purchase their courses on behalf of their nurse employees. These facilities require constant updates on their employee progress, participation, etc. (a requirement of the program).

The alternative program that's on the market essentially sells its program and provides no other contact. They have to have someone within the hospital facility monitor the progress of the students. Unfortunately, hospitals are busy places—there's not enough time to take care of that when you're an educator or a manager in a hospital OR setting.

Building a Successful Learning Solution

NIFA decided to remove the part of the process that required hospital staff to analyze the data about the online course. Instead, IntelliBoard’s weekly reports provide all of the necessary information.

The facilities (and their respective administrators) have documentation that goes specifically to them. This documentation is also limited to their students only.

Delivering Impact

IntelliBoard has impacted their internal operational flow—saving time and energy—because they no longer have to generate reports every week. Instead, scheduled weekly reports go to their customers without manual assistance.

Additionally, when undergoing their accreditation process, NIFA was able to pull reports that helped to position their program. This proved incredibly beneficial and made the accreditation process easier.