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Impact of a Trauma Boot Camp on Nurse Knowledge, Skills and Confidence, and Frequency of Unplanned Intensive Care Admissions

Bath, Jennifer Impact of a Trauma Boot Camp on Nurse Knowledge, Skills and Confidence, and Frequency of Unplanned Intensive Care Admissions. 2022. Radford University, Dissertation. Radford University Scholars' Repository.

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Abstract

Background: As an integral part of the trauma team, nurses provide skilled assessments, critical thinking, and effective communication (Peters et al., 2018). Trauma patients are complex, which requires appropriate education for nurses to meet their needs, yet there is little research on trauma-focused nursing education for inpatient nurses (Garvey et al., 2016). This study explores the impact of a trauma boot camp on nurse trauma knowledge, confidence, and skills and on the frequency of unplanned intensive care (UICU) admissions in trauma patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental one group study with pre- and post-intervention repeated measures design was used. The convenience sample included nurses employed with <3 years nursing experience practicing on inpatient surgical units at a Level I Trauma Center. Knowledge and confidence were measured pre- and immediately post-boot camp, and 30, 60, and 90 days later. Skills were measured the day of the boot camp. Unplanned ICU admission data was compared 90 days pre- and post-intervention. Results: Of the 20 nurses who attended the boot camp, only four participated in the study knowledge, confidence, and demographic data measures. Self-confidence levels from the simulation laboratory course evaluation tool demonstrated significant improvement for all participants in ability to recognize a deteriorating trauma patient (p=0.0001), ability to perform assessments on a deteriorating trauma patient (p=0.0002), ability to intervene appropriately for a deteriorating trauma patient (p=0.0003), and ability to describe use of the facility bladder management protocol and for spinal cord injury patients (p=0.0001). Skill level had no improvement from the first to final simulation, however, five of the seven simulation groups had an increase in their scores (p≥0.05). Unplanned ICU admissions significantly increased from pre- to post-boot camp (p≤0.05). Conclusions A trauma boot camp incorporating simulation-based training followed by debrief and then lecture may improve confidence levels in inpatient trauma nurses with <3 years of practice experience. Further research is needed to determine the effects on retention of knowledge, skill, and patient outcomes related to UICU admissions.

Item Type: Dissertation
Uncontrolled Keywords: trauma boot camp, simulation-based training, knowledge, skills, confidence, unplanned ICU admissions
Subjects: R Medicine > RT Nursing
Divisions: Radford University > School of Nursing
Date Deposited: 26 Mar 2023 12:18
Last Modified: 19 Apr 2023 17:01
URI: http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/879

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