Improving Left Ventricular Assist Device Competency in Emergency Nurses Using Quarterly Skills Check and Simulation

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Nursing Education

Background:

• Heart failure impacts millions, with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) offering improved survival.
• Increased prevalence of LVAD patients necessitates specialized emergency nursing skills.
• Emergency nurses require foundational knowledge for high-quality LVAD patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance emergency nurses' confidence and skills in managing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients.
• To reduce dependency on specialized technicians through improved nursing competency.
• To assess the impact of a targeted competency program on nursing confidence.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project utilized quarterly skills assessments.
• Confidence perception surveys were administered to evaluate program effectiveness.
• Simulation-based learning was employed to practice LVAD patient care scenarios.

Main Results:

• Confidence significantly increased across all assessed skills, including battery changes, controller exchanges, patient transport, and alarm management.
• Baseline confidence in caring for LVAD patients was 35.6%, dropping to 13.3% midyear, and rising to 75.6% by the final session.
• The competency program demonstrated a marked improvement in nurses' self-reported confidence.

Conclusions:

• Emergency nurses require enhanced support and training for effective LVAD patient care.
• Further research is needed to evaluate frequent simulation and resource availability.
• Implementing LVAD nurse champions can further bolster nursing confidence and skills.