Chapter Three: Methodology
Project Design:
This DNP project used a survey to answer the project question. A cross-sectional survey was administered to the anesthesia department and PACU staff approximately one year after the implementation of a newly developed handoff form. The handoff form was developed by the Chair of the Department of Anesthesia and the Nurse Manager of the PACU after complaints from staff were received regarding ineffective handoff communication (Appendix B) .The setting was the Anesthesia Department and Post-anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at Akron General Medical Center (AGMC). The operating room performs approximately 50-60 surgeries per day and the PACU consists of 24 beds for patients. The Endoscopy suites have their own recovery room and patients that have procedures in the Interventional Radiology or Electrophysiology labs go back to the Intensive Care units, rather than the PACU. Staff meetings for the anesthesia department and the PACU occur the first and third Wednesdays of every month, so the surveys were administered during the meeting on December 4, 2013. Permission to use meeting time for survey administration had been granted by the Chair of the Department of Anesthesia and the Nurse Manager of the PACU.
Sample:
The sample consisted of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and physician anesthesiologists working for Anesthesia Associates of Akron (AAA) at AGMC as well as Registered Nurses (RNs) taking report in the PACU. A total of 35 CRNAs and 15 Anesthesiologists were included in the sample. There are approximately 30 RN