Clinical Nurse Expert, RN University of Kentucky HealthCare Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Purpose: : Previous studies have shown that, on average, nurses staffing overnight have fewer years of experience compared to their day shift counterparts. New graduate nurses with fewer available resources coinciding with continued presentation of critical care/specialty patient populations presents a unique opportunity for bedside education. Fluctuating night shift volumes allows for informal educational offerings to occur, covering both planned and spontaneous topics.
Design: : A retrospective, descriptive research design was used to assess staff perception of overnight educational offerings and confidence in their nursing knowledge.
Setting:: The Clinical Nurse Expert is utilized to provide brief on-shift education in a teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center.
Sample:: During the study period the emergency department hired 47 new nurses, including 9 with previous RN experience. The group evaluated involved primarily novice nurses, however all nursing staff on shift were encouraged to attend. Additional multidisciplinary staff such as pharmacists and respiratory therapists also attended to assist in discussion of topics in their respective fields. In total, 67 bedside education sessions occurred throughout 2022.
Methods: : Presentations or demonstrations approximately 15 minutes in length allowed for the greatest number of participants to attend without disrupting patient care. Timing of education was flexible based on patient volume and availability of staff to attend. Topics ranged from medication administration, to resuscitation, to equipment specific education. REDCap, an electronic survey and documentation software, was used to capture survey data. Baseline data obtained in January 2022 was used to guide the content and gauge interest from staff. A follow-up survey sent in October 2022 was used to evaluate effectiveness of the project objectives and attendance. REDCap software was also utilized track teaching sessions, including topics covered and staff attendance at all bedside education occurring throughout 2022. Likert scaled questions were posed in a survey with scores ranging 1-10 with 1 indicating no helpful or new information was shared and 10 indicating information was helpful or new.
Results: : 74 percent of staff answering a survey stated that they had attended an overnight education session, with a median number of 5 sessions attended per staff member. Surveyed staff responded regarding helpfulness of topics covered (mean 9.08/10) and amount of new knowledge gained (mean 7.03/10).
Implications:: Engaging directly with nursing staff through bedside education was well-received by staff, with overwhelmingly positive self-reported measures of helpfulness and new knowledge gained. Based on data collected, it is recommended that emergency department management encourages in person, bedside education to occur overnight within a level 1 trauma center.
