PSNA continuing education credits (CEUs) were obtained
for attendees of the corporate in-service. The purpose of providing
CEUs was to improve perceived importance of the education
provided and motivate attendance of staff nurses at this
voluntary event.
Project Design/Implementation
This EBP change project was undertaken at Susquehanna
Health, a 436-bed regional health care system located in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania. The largest campus of this three-campus
system included a twelve bed intensive care unit (ICU),
an eleven bed cardiovascular surgical unit (CVSU), a 32 bed
step-down unit, and three medical-surgical units totaling 103
beds. The other two campuses combined included a 31 bed
mental health unit, a 20 bed medical-surgical unit, and a 139
bed skilled nursing unit. Each campus also contained an operating
room (OR) and same day surgery (SDS) suite. The target
population for this project was registered nurses practicing
within the acute care units. Participation was voluntary.
Just prior to implementation of the change project, Susquehanna
Health revised their CVAD flushing protocol based upon
evidence obtained from the aforementioned literature review.
This revision deleted the use of heparinized saline for flushing
all central lines except mediports and dialysis catheters. An
educational EBP change project was designed to enhance the
success of this new CVAD protocol as well as address other
factors that have been shown to affect CVAD patency. Education
was offered both corporately and individually.
A 2.5 hour in-service presentation on EBP for CVAD management
was developed, utilizing multiple pedagogical strategies
to enhance participation, comprehension, and retention of
knowledge and skills. These strategies included a PowerPoint
facilitated lecture, small group work, and hands-on practice.
In an effort to dovetail this project with current efforts of the
health care institution to incorporate EBP and research into the
culture of their system, discussion regarding the concept and
relationship of EBP was also included. See Table 1 for an outline
of content covered during this corporate in-service. An abbreviated
presentation focusing solely on CVAD management
was also created to provide individual or small group education
to nursing staff on the various units who were unable to attend
the corporate in-service (see items 2 & 3 in Table 1).
Written and electronic communication with nursing unit
managers and staff RNs provided information in a timely manner
so as to encourage attendance at the corporate in-service
and participation in the unit-based in-services. The shortened
version of the educational program was presented to the Education
Practice Council two months prior to project implementation.
Members of this council shared feedback from staff
nurse surveys that demonstrated a preference for scheduled
presentations versus roving rounds. Clinical supervisors were
utilized to coordinate scheduling of presentations on each nursing
unit. Collaboration with the Director of Nursing Resource
Management/Special Projects facilitated necessary approvals
and room/equipment reservations, including the use of videoconferencing
equipment to enable off-campus participation in
the corporate in-service.
P