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Ward nurses' roles and responsibilities during rapid response team activation for patient deterioration: A scoping
Hebah Kaljeh1, Farida Saghafi2, Melanie Greenwood2
1School of Nursing, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia; Department of Critical Care Medicine, Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, Australia.
Objectives:
The aim of this scoping review was to explore the existing literature to identify key existing concepts in relation to ward nurses' engagement and experience during rapid response team (RRT) activation for patient deterioration and highlight gaps in the research.
Review Method Used:
The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology was used. The Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for Practice and Research Recommendations framework was used in a reflective manner alongside the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines to guide data synthesis, charting, and reporting of the findings.
Data Sources:
In September 2023, electronic databases-MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL Complete (via EBSCO), Embase, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar, for published works, and Web of Science and Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations-were searched. Searches were accompanied by hand-searching grey literature and reference lists.
Review Methods:
Articles were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. A full-text review was completed by two authors independently, with any disagreement resolved by consensus by the third author. A table was developed to extract key information from the eligible studies.
Results:
Twenty-seven articles were included in the review. Findings highlighted three main patterns: (i) ward nurses' experience; (ii) ward nurses' scope of practice; and (iii) mechanisms affecting ward nurses' engagement with the RRT.
Conclusions:
This review identified that the roles and responsibilities of ward nurses during a joint rescue with the RRT are unclear. Multiple mechanisms that impacted the ward nurses' engagement within the RRT were highlighted in this review. Further education and training and specific guidelines on the ward nurses' role during RRT activation events may help the ward nurses feel more valued as a team member of the RRT and be better prepared and trained to provide nursing care during medical emergencies. Due to the limited data available on the topic, more research regarding the role of ward nurses is necessary.
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