Nurses' perceptions of usefulness of laboratory data for nursing practice

The purpose of this study was to examine nurses' perceptions about the usefulness and barriers to the use of laboratory tests. An investigator-developed questionnaire was given to participants in 20 continuing education workshops. The sample consisted of 536 registered nurses and 40 licensed vocational nurses. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were performed. No significant differences existed in the nurses' reported uses or barriers to using laboratory data by area of practice or length of time since graduation. A significant difference (Fisher's exact P = 0.02) found was the educational level in the reported major usefulness of laboratory data.