Importance of Healthy Work Environment Education in Nursing Schools

Implementing a Standardized Communication Tool in an Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND

Effective communication is essential in critical care settings. Use of the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) tool has been shown to standardize and improve communication among health care providers.

LOCAL PROBLEM

This quality improvement project was designed to improve communication in an intensive care unit that lacked a standardized communication protocol. Communication practices differed greatly between nurses and advanced practice providers. As a result, patient safety was put at risk owing to incomplete, inaccurate, or delayed information when clinical concerns were reported or escalated.

METHODS

This project used a pre-post design in which surveys were used to gather information on staff perceptions of communication and collaboration between nurses and advanced practice providers before and after an educational intervention. The 2 groups received identical education on SBAR guidelines adapted for use in the intensive care unit setting and patient safety.

RESULTS

Results showed improvement in all areas of communication. Significant improvements were found on the General Perceptions subscale among advanced practice providers (P = .04) and among nurses (P = .007). In the combined study population, improvements were observed on all subscales, with significant results for the Open Communication (P = .03) and General Perceptions (P = .002) subscales. A significant increase was found in the percentage of nurses using the SBAR tool after the intervention (95%) compared with before the intervention (66%; P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Implementation of the SBAR communication tool significantly improved general perceptions of communication in this intensive care unit.

Effects of a simulation-based nursing process educational program: A mixed-methods study

AIMS

To examine the effects of a simulation-based nursing process educational program on nursing students' confidence in communication and foundational understanding of the nursing process.

BACKGROUND

The nursing process is a core component of patient-centered nursing care that is underpinned by effective communication. However, learning how to engage patients and carry out the distinct steps of the nursing process can be challenging if students are not able to apply knowledge to practice. Simulation-based learning programs can provide an immersive opportunity for students to enhance their understanding of the nursing process as well as improve their communication skills.

DESIGN

A mixed methods randomized controlled trial METHODS: Two Fundamentals of Nursing classes were recruited from a university in northern Taiwan. The experimental group (n = 58) engaged with the simulation-based nursing process educational program, which consisted of an online interactive animation and a standardized patient simulation. The control group (n = 49) was assigned a case-study. Confidence in Communication surveys, assignment and examination scores, satisfaction questionnaires and post-simulation reflection logs were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

Both groups showed statistically significant improvement in Confidence in Communication (p < .001). The experimental group performed better on the assignment than the control group (p < .001). No significant difference was seen between either groups' examination performances. The animation's high usage rate (mean 5.91 interactions per-user) and the results of the satisfaction questionnaires indicate the program's positive reception from the experimental group. The following themes emerged: effective communication skills, problem solving, confidence, feeling prepared and novel learning experience.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate that the simulation-based nursing process educational program increased students' self-confidence in communication and non-verbal communication skills as well as foundational understanding of how to carry out the nursing process. The use of interactive simulation-based learning experiences is recommended to improve nursing students' understanding of how to apply abstract concepts into practice.