Authors (including presenting author) :
Tang SM(1), Chan CT(1), Lam CH(1), Wong UY(1),Tsung PPK(1), Lee CK(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Operating Theatre, Prince of Wales Hospital
Introduction :
Airway management took up 30% of anesthesia-related death (Hughes, 2022). Experience and competency of anesthesia assistants were important for a successful airway intubation (Durbin et al., 2014). Training for health care provider on intubation was proven crucial to patient safety (Kennedy et al., 2014). This pilot project aimed to promote the clinical competency of the selected theatre nurses in the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) to assist in airway intubation in effective and systematic manner.
Objectives :
•To understand the current knowledge status of the theatre nurses related to airway intubation preparation.
•To empower the knowledge and practical skills of basic intubation procedure and to tackle challenges in difficult airway intubation
•To set up multimedia interfaces as refreshment of the taught materials.
Methodology :
A survey was conducted in March 2023 to collect the data on the current knowledge status and the learning attitudes towards the proposed project. The content and outline of the educational program were then consequentially drawn in accordance with the survey result. A pre-test was taken before the workshop which included educational talks, hands-on practical sessions and scenario drills. An immediate post-test was given upon the completion of the program day and the second post-test was taken on the Day 7. Test result was then analyzed by Binomial Test and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test evaluated both individual aspect and overall effectiveness of the educational workshop. Difference in mean score results in two post-tests and drill performance were also analyzed.
Result & Outcome :
There were 87 replied surveys at the initial phase. In line with the survey result, twenty-six junior theatre nurses with 0-2 years experience in PWH were prioritized to join this pilot project in May 2023. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was employed to compare the difference in median of correctness between the pre and post tests. The p-value was 0.000008 proving that the effectiveness of the educational program was statistically significant at 0.05 level. The Exact Binomial Test also demonstrated significant improvements at 0.05 level in the large majority of each individual aspect. Furthermore, the day 7 mean post test results were risen by 13.5% in comparison to the immediate post test. Moreover, 98% of participates agreed that they perceived higher level of understanding on airway intubation and 96% of them exemplified improved confidence after the airway workshop. This educational program was successful as shown by statistical significance and clinical usefulness.
