An evidence-based general anaesthesia and prone position nursing checklist: Development and testing

Area of Science:

• Perioperative Nursing
• Surgical Safety
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Prone positioning during general anesthesia presents significant challenges for perioperative nurses.
• Patients in prone position are susceptible to numerous preventable complications.
• No evidence-based tools currently exist to enhance nursing practice in this setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a nursing checklist for general anesthesia and prone positioning.
• To improve the quality and safety of nursing care for patients in prone position.

Main Methods:

• A prospective pre-post study design was employed.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) checklist development model guided the creation of an evidence-based tool.
• Circulating nurses' practices were observed before and after checklist implementation during posterior lumbar spine surgery.

Main Results:

• A checklist with 4 pause points and 22 essential nursing practices was developed.
• The checklist significantly increased the average performance of essential practices from 72.72% to 95.45%.
• High nurse satisfaction was reported, with 91.7% finding it easy to use and 94.4% wanting its continued use.

Conclusions:

• The developed checklist is an effective tool for improving nursing practices during general anesthesia and prone positioning.
• Implementation of this checklist enhances patient safety and nursing care quality.
• The checklist demonstrates high utility and ease of use among perioperative nurses.