Implementation of an Educational Program about Rapid Response Teams for Intensive Care Unit Nurses

Abstract

Patients who exhibit critical changes in condition should be identified promptly and receive care that will stabilize their condition. The significance of Rapid Response Teams (RRT’s) in the hospital setting is multifaceted and includes improved patient safety and outcomes by early identification and prompt treatment for patients’ experiencing an acute change in condition (Chan et al., 2010; Winters et al., 2013). The formal educational training program implementation for RRT nurses is a quality improvement initiative. The educational implementation consisted of a didactic lecture portion and simulation session. A single group, pre-posttest design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the lecture. Data were also collected on the overall simulation experience as rated by the participant. The Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning (2005) tool developed by the National League of Nursing (National League of Nursing, 2005). A total 14 nurses attended one of the two educational training program sessions for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nurses to the RRT. There was a statistically significant increase between the pretest (M=7.93, SD=1.07) and posttest (M=9.07, SD=0.73), z (11)=-2.93, p<0.05). Survey results from the simulation using the Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning questionnaire were analyzed for each participant who successfully completed the simulation scenarios (n=6). The 13 question survey utilized a Likert scale response with 1 as strongly disagree to 5 as strongly agree with the statement. Results had mean score of 4.80 (Min=4.08, Max=5.00). The utilization of the Rapid Response Team in the inpatient hospital setting is essential to patient safety and contributes to positive patient outcomes. The standardized educational training program allowed for a structured process to train nurses who participate within the Rapid Response Team.