Citation

Jonson CO, Pettersson J, Rybing J, Nilsson H, Prytz E. Nurse Educ. Today 2017; 55: 20-25.

Affiliation

Center for Disaster Medicine and Traumatology, and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Centre for Teaching & Research in Disaster Medicine and Traumatology, Linköping University, Johannes Magnus väg 11, SE-583 30 Linköping, Sweden; Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden. Electronic address: erik.prytz@liu.se.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.nedt.2017.04.020

PMID

28505521

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Head nurses at emergency departments often assume responsibility for managing the initial response to a major incident, and to create surge capacity. Training is essential to enable these nurses to perform an effective disaster response. Evaluating the effects of such training is however complicated as real skill only can be demonstrated during a real major incident. Self-efficacy has been proposed as an alternative measure of training effectiveness.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine if short, small-scale computer-based simulation exercises could improve head emergency nurses' general and specific self-efficacy and initial incident management skills.

METHOD: A within-group pretest-posttest design was used to examine 13 head nurses' general and specific self-efficacy before and after an intervention consisting of three short computer based simulation exercises during a 1-h session. Management skills were assessed using the computer simulation tool DigEmergo.

RESULTS: The exercises increased the head nurses' general self-efficacy but not their specific self-efficacy. After completing the first two exercises they also exhibited improved management skills as indicated by shorter time to treatment for both trauma and in-hospital patients.

CONCLUSION: This study indicates that short computer based simulation exercises provide opportunities for head nurses to improve management skills and increase their general self-efficacy.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Management; Mass casualty incident; Nurses; Simulation training; Surge capacity