[Hospital nurses' knowledge of the patient care plan for immediate life threatening situations]

To evaluate knowledge of nurses in adult hospital units in Txagorritxu Hospital (Vitoria) on care plans for immediate life-threatening (ILT) situations and to determine their self-evaluation of knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the main sociodemographic characteristics that could influence the need for better training in this field.

We performed a cross-sectional, analytical, observational study through a survey of 207 nurses in adult hospital units. Data were collected using a self-administered 20-item questionnaire. Five of these items measured knowledge of the care plan for ILT situations.

The response rate was 74.39%. Of the five questions measuring knowledge, 32.4% of the nurses answered four or more questions correctly. Of the total, 38.3% knew when to activate the ILT plan; 12.99% did not know how to remove or lower the bed head when the patient was experiencing an ILT situation, and 24.03% did so with difficulty. No significant differences were found in nurses' experience, age, or the percentage of correct responses.

Training courses should be organized to enable nurses to act in an ILT situation, including when to activate the care plan, how to perform the measures, and how to handle the center's materials/equipment.