From Theory to Transformation Using MetaPORT to Equip APN Students for a New Healthcare Era
Presented by:
Kerrie Coleman, Pennsylvania State University
Keywords:
Metacognition, Nursing Theory, Community of Practice
Hear it from the author:
Transcript:
Hello, I’m Dr. Kerrie Coleman, and I want to share MetaPORT, a practical tool that helps advanced practice nurses turn theory into action. The pace and demands of healthcare, leadership and teaching can stall progress. MetaPORT helps Advanced Practice Nurses reclaim time for reflection and translate learning into innovation.
It starts with Metacognition using CUE: Calming the mind, Using reflection, and Evaluation. Calming the mind clears distractions so you can examine issues from past, present, and future angles. Evaluation can yield a four-point, humble assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Problem Identification anchors practice in evidence: an integrative literature review connects care to research, and root-cause analysis uncovers deeper drivers.
Organize Thinking asks you to diary and summarize findings—calm, reflect, review literature—distilling insights and linking to nursing theories.
Relationship to Nursing Theory keeps theory as a practical guide for safe, evidence-based action. Talk Out Loud invites a Community of Practice to share perspectives and drive quality, safety, and efficiency.
MetaPORT provides a systematic, theory-driven path for the Advanced Practice Nurses to lead, practice, and educate change with confidence and compassion.
Key Statement:
A return to foundational nursing theory guides holistic practice. MetaPORT algorithm is designed to transform nursing theory into a practical tool for addressing clinical challenges.
Abstract:
The complex demands of healthcare necessitate a return to foundational nursing theory to guide holistic practice. MetaPORT is designed to transform nursing theory into a practical tool for addressing clinical challenges.
MetaPORT facilitates a systematic critical thinking process through five key phases: Metacognition (using the CUE acronym—Calming the mind, Using reflection, Evaluation), Problem Identification via integrative literature reviews, Organizing Thinking through a structured "thinking diary," establishing a Relationship to nursing theory, and engaging in a "community of practice" by Talking Out Loud. By integrating these analytical steps, APNs can bridge the gap between past learning and future innovation.
Outcomes:
1. Analyze the CUE Metacognition technique to a specific clinical encounter to identify personal biases or emotional triggers that may impact holistic care.
2. Define a structured "Thinking Diary" that integrates findings from an integrative literature review to bridge the gap between current clinical challenges and foundational nursing theory.
3. Identify a "community of practice" by articulating a nursing theory-based solution out loud to peers, demonstrating how systematic reflection transforms abstract theory into a practical tool for advanced practice.
References:
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf
Chinn, P. L., & Kramer, M. K. (2018). Knowledge development in nursing: Theory and process (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier
International Council of Nurses. (2020). 2020 guidelines on advanced practice nursing. ICN.
Johnson, E., & Carrington, J. M. (2022). Revisiting the nursing metaparadigm: Acknowledging technology as foundational to progressing nursing knowledge. Nursing Inquiry, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12502