Post-Resuscitation Debriefing in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase the number of post-resuscitation debriefings in the emergency department by educating charge nurses on the benefits and barriers to debriefing and the use of the STOP5 hot debriefing tool. Background: Emergency medical providers are repeatedly exposed to stressful, disturbing, and traumatic events such as death and violence, which can lead to acute stress and burnout. Debriefing is a method of defusing that promotes positive coping and provides peer support while improving future clinical performance in medical providers. Despite the known benefits and recommendation by the American Heart Association, debriefs are rare in emergency departments. Methods: The Model for Improvement PDSA cycle design was utilized in this project. Emergency department charge nurses were recruited by email to participate in a 20-minute education session on the benefits of debriefing, known barriers, and using the STOP5 debriefing tool. Pre- and post-surveys were administered evaluating familiarity with debriefing and the level of perceived benefits versus perceived barriers to debriefing in the emergency department. Results: There were ten participants, eight charge nurses and two nurse managers. The post-survey results showed an increase in familiarity and perceived benefits of debriefing while demonstrating a reduction in the perceived barriers. Participants also felt more comfortable with participating in and leading debriefings. At the end of four weeks, there was an increase in the percentage of resuscitations that were debriefed. Conclusion: The implementation of charge nurse education on debriefing benefits and using the STOP5 debriefing tool was successful in increasing post-resuscitation debriefings.