Educating Intensive Care Nurses on Thromboelastography Results: Pre-Post Implementation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project (QIP) was to educate intensive care unit (ICU) nurses at Mayo Clinic Hospital (MCH) on thromboelastography (TEG) results and how these results help guide blood product transfusions and anticoagulation therapy.Background: ICU nurses commonly have limited knowledge about managing TEG results. Understanding TEG results could result in faster patient interventions. TEG interpretations benefit a wide range of patient populations. Methods: A recorded PowerPoint presentation was created regarding appropriate patient selection, result interpretation, and intervention management of TEGs for ICU nurses at MCH. A pre-post education test using Qualtrics software was used with a paired t-test to evaluate the knowledge gained from the intervention and the likelihood of use in practice. Results: 18 participants were included in the pretest-posttest, and survey data supported the overall benefits of this QIP. The pretest-posttest results had increased scores except for one result that decreased and one that stayed the same. P-values were statistically significant for both collective and individual scores, indicated that knowledge was gained from the educational intervention. Conclusions: The results of this QIP demonstrated improved knowledge and confidence of MCH ICU nurses regarding TEG results and patient management in clinical practice.