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Abstract
Increase in volume and acuity of patients following Chest Pain Center Percutaneous Intervention (PCI) accreditation at a hospital in the foothills of North Carolina, led to various needs identified. One identified need was standard care training for nurses taking care of post-catheterization patients. An evidence-based program was developed to provide education aimed at increasing nursing knowledge and to positively impact their attitudes about confidence and competence in caring for post-catheterization patients. Thirteen 2-hour face-to-face education sessions were offered over three months to 141 nurses identified by nursing directors as nurses working on units that accept post-catheterization patients. A sample of 17 participants participated in the scholarly project with all completing a test of knowledge and most completing a survey about beliefs pre- and post-education. A statistically significant difference was measured in total score between pre-test (M=18.76, SD=2.04, SE=.50) and post-test (M=23.35, SD= 1.84, SE= .44); t(16)=-9.037, p=.000. Questions regarding management of complications provided some of the lowest initial scores and largest increase in scores on the post-test of knowledge. No statistically significant change in attitudes about nursing competence and confidence was measured. Results suggest that while nurses gained knowledge about post-catheterization patients by attending the education sessions, experience may be more important to recognize and manage complications. As a result of time and practical constraints, hands-on experience was not possible during this study. This underscores the need for future education sessions offered concurrently with clinical hands-on experience managing vascular access sites and complications in a controlled setting.