Sepsis knowledge, skills and attitudes among ward-based nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Critical Care Medicine
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Nurses play a crucial role in early sepsis identification through patient screening.
• Current compliance with sepsis management protocols remains suboptimal.
• Integrating sepsis screening into daily nursing practice is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of sepsis training on ward nurses' knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
• To assess the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving sepsis care.

Main Methods:

• Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to registered nurses across 16 acute surgical and medical wards.
• Data was collected on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to sepsis screening.

Main Results:

• Nurses with sepsis training exhibited superior knowledge of sepsis screening tools like the National Early Warning Score 2 and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) criteria.
• Trained nurses reported more positive attitudes, increased confidence in sepsis screening, and higher likelihood of screening patients.
• A response rate of 39% (98/250) was achieved.

Conclusions:

• Sepsis training demonstrably improves nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in sepsis screening and management.
• Enhanced training leads to better adherence to evidence-based sepsis care.
• Mandatory sepsis training for all clinical staff is recommended to improve patient outcomes.