Perinatal staff nurse medical device use and education

How and what RNs working in the perinatal area initially learned about the medical devices they use and the sequelae of device use both for patients and staff were explored.

Eighty-five perinatal staff nurses working at a 500-bed tertiary care hospital in a medium-size midwestern American city were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire comprised of 26 open-ended and closed-ended questions pertaining to device education, consequences of device use, demographic characteristics, and employment situation.

Most participants (n = 48, 62.3%) initially learned about the most frequently used device by reading the user/instruction manual. At least 90% (n = 77) of participants indicated they initially had learned how to operate the device, its purpose, function, and patient factors indicating use. Inadequate device knowledge was related to nurse stress, and being unsure how to use the device and fear of harming the patient were the two reasons most frequently identified as causing the stress. Six percent (n = 5) of staff nurses had used a device that caused patient harm.

What RNs initially learn about medical devices may be related to how they learn, and the continuing increase in nurse use of medical devices has implications for all aspects of professional nursing: curriculum, teaching clinical nursing, continuing education and staff development, and research.