Program
Design of a peer mentorship program directed by heart transplant and ventricular assist device patients
May 25, 2024 from 2:00pm MST to 2:30pm MST
Heart transplant (HT) and Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) implantation is a life-changing event for patients with advanced heart failure (AHF). Patients in the HT Program (HTP) at St. Paul’s Hospital (SPH), Vancouver, British Columbia have expressed value in a peer-mentorship program (PMP) where peer support and shared experiences can help manage these life-altering circumstances. The purpose of the study is to identify aspects needed for a successful PMP. Our study will explore how a PMP will look in terms of structure, content and process. Patients having a central voice in assembling a PMP will remove the paternalistic biases that clinicians may have when determining what would be best for the patient. Qualitative Interpretive Description methodology was used to achieve a phenomenological study involving the lived experience of the participants. The sample was drawn from the SPH HTP ambulatory setting, involving pre-HT, post-HT and VAD patients. Recruitment by open invitation as well as purposeful sampling included patients over the age of 19 years, who have received care in the past 10 years at the SPH HTP. A structured guided 1-hour individual interview was conducted virtually with the interviews recorded and transcribed. Iterative thematic analysis was used to study the de-identified transcribed data. Themes garnered from this study will then shape our proposed future PMP. Results are set to be finalized by January 2024. Our team desired to perform this exercise through full patient engagement from the beginning while using a scientific, qualitative research methodology to guide our inquiry.
Speakers / Panelists
-
Design of a peer mentorship program directed by heart transplant and ventricular assist device patients
May 25, 2024 from 2:00pm MST to 2:30pm MST
Josie Mackey
RN
Josie Mackey
Josie Mackey
RN
Josie Mackey graduated from the BCIT School of Nursing with a diploma in 2002 and completed her BSN at the UBC School of Nursing in 2004. She began her cardiac nursing career within the St. Paul’s Hospital Heart Centre in 2002. As a Registered Nurse (RN) she has had the opportunity to work in various cardiac areas, including the cardiac medical floor, coronary intensive care unit, Heart Function Clinic, and Transcatheter Heart Valve Clinic.
In 2020, Josie started working in the Heart Transplant and VAD Program as a Patient and Nurse Educator. Josie works collaboratively with physicians and allied health to provide heart failure, heart transplant and VAD education to patients and nurses. It has been rewarding to be able to continue caring for and advocating for patients in the clinical setting.