Education On Pulmonary Artery Catheters and the Impact on Nurse Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this Quality Improvement project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a skills validation module on pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) for critical care nurses. The project goals were to assess whether this intervention positively affected their self-efficacy with PACs and to evaluate their satisfaction with the content and format of the training via a post-training survey. Background. Self-efficacy, an individual’s belief in their ability to master the required functions of their professional role, facilitates the development of nursing competency and the delivery of quality nursing care. Proficiency in task performance can be developed through participation in educational activities, which, in addition to furthering knowledge, can increase an individual's self-efficacy. Therefore, education on PACs may enhance nursing self-efficacy and proficiency in managing these devices. Methods. This Quality Improvement (QI) project employed a retrospective pretest-posttest design to assess the impact of an educational program on nursing self-efficacy related to the management of PACs.Results. Six out of 202 eligible participants completed the post-training survey. Self-efficacy mean scores were higher after training than before. Four sub-dimensions of PAC management – identifying the correct placement of a PAC on chest x-ray, correctly identifying waveforms, obtaining a cardiac output using thermodilution, and obtaining a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure – demonstrated the most significant increases in self-efficacy ratings. Conclusions. Annual training on pulmonary artery catheters may enhance nursing self-efficacy in managing this device. In addition, self-efficacy scores obtained before designing a training program may facilitate the development of a more effective and efficient curriculum by identifying topics that are most in need of review and those in which nurses have already established proficiency.