Effect of explicit criteria on nonstress test evaluation by obstetric nurses

The ability to interpret five nonstress tests (NST) was evaluated with a mail survey of obstetric nurses. One group of nurses (402) used their own criteria for interpreting the test as reactive, nonreactive, or equivocal. The other group (396) used explicitly defined criteria. There was no relationship in either group between the accuracy of response to past training, number of years in nursing, or daily experience with the NST. Furthermore, the provision of diagnostic criteria did not affect either the accuracy of response or the translation of the NST into an assessment of fetal well-being. These responses of obstetric nurses were equivalent to those of obstetricians who evaluated these same tracings in a previous study. These data support a conclusion that the obstetric nurse can interpret the NST with a level of reliability commensurate with obstetricians.