Authors (including presenting author) :
Ho YW, CHEUNG TY, Poon ST
Affiliation :
ICU, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong
Introduction :
Critical care nursing involves intense monitoring and support to patients with life-threatening conditions, and requires nurses to perform complicated care within a constrained time frame. In view of the challenges posed by the complex care needs of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, working in the ICU can be stressful for novice nurses. An innovative learning strategy - a quick reference application (app), was developed with a bottom-up approach to address novices’ learning needs. The app provides accessible reference on ICU nursing care and medication management, also incorporating search and save function to facilitate new ICU nurses’ usage.
Objectives :
This project aims to develop a quick reference mobile app to PWH ICU novice nurses. Through enhancing their knowledge and skill levels, the app empowers novices to manage general ward procedures and situations.
Methodology :
A background survey was conducted to identify perceived challenges, difficulties, and learning needs among nurses with less than 2 years of ICU experience. A web-based mobile app was subsequently launched aiming to facilitate collaborative and self-directed learning among new nurses in August 2024. The app was designed by three ICU nurses with content formulated based on the survey results, department guidelines, as well as expert guidance from the ICU Nurse Consultant. A post-survey was distributed to evaluate the app’s usability, content design and functionality; as well as its impacts on nursing practice.
Result & Outcome :
In October 2024, a total of 59 (66% of PWH ICU nurses) responses were collected in the post-survey, whereas the response rate in the novice group was 84%. The key post-survey results are as follows: 78% of total respondents rated 8 or above (out of 10) in user satisfaction. Novice nurses scored 83/100, 83/100 and 93/100 for the app in terms of usefulness in learning, improvement in work performance and likelihood of recommending it to peers respectively. On average, novices scored 97/100 when asked about whether they think the app is helpful in reducing challenges at work and decreasing the level of difficulty in the ICU.
