Getting Started

Welcome to SPRUCE-RN!

(Short for ‘Skills Practice for Rural and Under-serviced Continued Education of Registered Nurses')

The goal of this website is to provide a one-stop-shop for starting hands-on education at your nursing station/healthcare center today! If you look to the left-hand side bar, we have developed several modules that have been nurse tested to create, implement, and evaluate key nursing skills that are relevant to your rural and remote practice.

This website and its content was co-developed by nurses with experience providing care to patients in rural/remote locations in Ontario and nurses with simulation-based nursing education expertise. This website is designed by nurses for nurses.

Why go here for my rural/remote education needs versus other websites?

  • Every module (from text, to videos, to resources listed) and the task trainer has been reviewed, built, and tested by nurses who have worked in rural or remote settings in Northern Ontario to ensure realism to patient care, and ease of assembly & use. Your practice, your needs, and the patients you serve have been thought about every step along the way.

  • Our task trainers are designed to cost less than commercial alternatives with shipping considerations for remote locations in mind. If you want to do cost comparisons, consider shipping and ordering expectations, or decide on whether you tackle DIY vs. commercial products, feel free to visit our Rural Remote Factors module. We hope that with these reduced costs, and increased accessibility, you can easily advocate for using education funds to meet your learning and professional development needs.

  • We have also made the task trainers as modifiable as possible, to reflect what you are experiencing in your practice setting (for example: multiple adaptable wound models, IO inserts that can mimic both adult and pediatric approaches, etc.). We hope that with this customizability we meet your team where they are at for their learning needs.

  • All the modules are designed to be easily printable, and the videos can be viewed external to the website if your internet bandwidth is slow.

  • The equipment lists, and the skills station guides have been set-up to assume clean utility supplies that would be accessible in rural/remote settings, or leave room for interpretation.

  • If you do have questions related to the modules, you can email [email protected].

What can I expect in each module?

Other than our ‘Standardized Patient’ module, each module has:

  • A clear materials list of all the supplies you will need to assemble and implement the task trainer.
  • A cost breakdown sheet with links to source materials.
  • A step-by-step guide for assembly of the task trainer, including pictures and a descriptive video.
  • A table with reference photos to show set-up of the task trainer, including all the clean utility supplies required for the skills station.
  • Optional best practice resources to provide coaching, feedback, evaluation, and further readings on the skill.

We welcome you to get started today!