Enhancing nurse competence in early recognition of cardiotoxicity

Preliminary research reveals that many nurses feel inadequate and possess limited knowledge when it comes to managing cardiotoxicity, underscoring the necessity for educational programs to enhance nursing skills in this area.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of an educational intervention on nurses perceived self-efficacy in recognizing patients exhibiting symptoms of cancer treatment-related cardiotoxicity. The study was set in a 16-bed cardiac critical care unit (CCU) within a 462-bed hospital. The sample group was comprised of registered nurses (RNs) working on or floating to the CCU. The study used a within-subjects design. Participants completed a pre-education survey, attended one of six 30-minute education interventions, and completed a post-education survey. The outcome variables were 7 self-confidence questions from the Nursing Self-Efficacy Scale for Managing Cancer Treatment-Related Cardiotoxicity (NSS-CTC) on a 5-point Likert scale and one yes or no self-efficacy question. Descriptive statistics and paired T-tests were applied to analyze pre- and post-education surveys.

The pre-and post-education comparative analysis for each of the 7 NSS-CTC self-confidence questions was statistically significant with test statistics ranging from t = 3.43 to t = 8.69 and p-values ranging from 0.0021 to less than 0.0001. All 26 RNs answered "yes" in their ability to detect symptoms of cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity after the education.

The lack of education for cardiac nurses against the backdrop of increasing cardiotoxicity in cancer patients showcases the essential need for cardiac nurse early symptom recognition education.