The impact of a bandage training programme

This study measured the impact of a training programme on nurses' bandaging skills and aimed to establish whether any improvements are maintained over time. Two commonly used high-compression bandages were investigated using the Oxford pressure monitor. A quantitative approach was taken using a quasi-experimental, pre- and post-test design. Using a sample of 23 community nurses, data were collected by means of a self-rating questionnaire, structured observation and objective measurement. Nurses' knowledge and competence significantly improved following training. However, the maintenance of skills requires further investigation. Nurses tended to overrate their competency in bandaging compared with actual proficiency. More nurses achieved better proficiency scores when using one bandage type compared with the other, but this was not statistically significant.