Empowering Nurses to Increase Certification Rates in a Postanesthesia Care Unit: A Collaborative Team Approach.

Autor: Epstein D; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, PACU, New York, NY., Lavin PM; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, PACU, New York, NY., Withall J; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, PACU, New York, NY., Wong D; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, PACU, New York, NY.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of perianesthesia nursing : official journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses [J Perianesth Nurs] 2024 Aug 06. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 06.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jopan.2024.05.004
Abstrakt: Purpose: The number of postanesthesia care unit (PACU) registered nurses (RNs) with a specialty nursing certification at an orthopedic hospital in an academic health system was below the organizational benchmark. A clinical nurse-led process was developed to increase the percentage of PACU RNs with a specialty certification. This article will describe the strategies and interventions identified to support, reward, and recognize nurses who obtain or maintain their specialty certifications.
Design: A performance improvement project using the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle.
Methods: A gap analysis identified barriers preventing PACU nurses from obtaining specialty certifications in an orthopedic acute care American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet-designated hospital. An anonymous web-based survey was distributed to 18 nurses who, although eligible, were not certified. The survey assessed common barriers to certification (eg, cost of the examination, comfort level with the testing process, level of access to review courses and study materials, expense to maintain credentials, personal interest in certification, and awareness of qualification information to take the exam). The project team included PACU nurse leaders, certified clinical nurses, nursing professional development specialists, and other interdisciplinary team members (eg, content experts from different departments).
Findings: Eighteen RNs completed the anonymous survey. The leading barrier was the expense of the certification exam (73%), while 66% of respondents reported discomfort with the test-taking process. Additionally, 61% of nurses reported that more access to review courses and study materials is needed, 44% responded that the expense of maintaining credentials is a barrier, 39% responded that the additional compensation pay for a specialty certification was considered to be insufficient, 39% agreed there is a lack of information on eligibility criteria, and 6% responded that they have no interest or desire to become certified. The survey results informed implementation strategies to increase certification rates, including initiating peer-to-peer exam groups and ongoing collaboration with nurse leaders on reward and recognition strategies. The removal of known barriers to obtaining specialty certification significantly increased certification rates in the PACU. Over the project period, the percentage of PACU-certified nurses increased to 60%, exceeding the project goal of 51%.
Conclusions: Peer-to-peer education and collaboration with nursing leadership and other interdisciplinary team members helped increase PACU's certification rates in this orthopedic specialty hospital. The informational and recognition strategies were impactful, resulting in additional nurses interested in becoming certified. Newly certified nurses are now motivating others to seek certification. Based on this well-established support system, the PACU certification rate is anticipated to continue to rise.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None to report.
(Copyright © 2024 The American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE