Laser education. Are current programs meeting perioperative nurses' needs?

As we expected, our surveys found that advanced-level respondents were more highly trained and more experienced, and they perceived themselves as more knowledgeable and more skilled than basic-level laser nurses. Respondents surveyed in 1991 were better educated and more experienced, and they perceived themselves as more knowledgeable and slightly more skilled than those surveyed in 1989. Though these apparent trends are encouraging, other findings indicate that there are large gaps in the knowledge base of even advanced-level laser nurses, particularly in the area of basic laser physics. Of those responding to the item on attendance at educational programs on lasers, 91% had attended some type of laser inservice or education program. Far more respondents, however, had attended manufacturer-provided operational inservice programs or hospital inservice programs on safety compared to those who reported having attended in-depth continuing education courses. In addition, wide discrepancies were observed between the percentages of respondents who had experience with a given type of laser and those who had education beyond the level of operational inservice programs. Apparently, a significant number of nurses who are involved in laser procedures have had no training beyond a very basic level. Respondents rated themselves most knowledgeable about areas related to laser safety and operation. When asked to identify the most important areas of laser education, patient and personnel safety was the paramount concern for all four groups. At the same time, they identified laser physics and tissue interaction as difficult-to-understand, yet important, areas of laser education.