The need for nurses to have in service education to provide the best care for clients with chest drains.

Full Abstract

Chest drains are a widespread intervention for patients admitted to acute respiratory or cardiothoracic surgery care areas. These are either inserted intraoperatively or as part of the conservative management of a respiratory illness or thoracic injury. Anecdotally there appears to be a lack of consensus among nurses on the major principles of chest drain management. Many decisions tend to be based on personal factors rather than sound clinical evidence. This inconsistency of treatment regimes, together with the lack of evidence-based nursing care, creates a general uncertainty regarding the care of patients with chest drains. This study aimed to identify the nurses' levels of knowledge with regard to chest drain management and identify and to ascertain how nurses keep informed about the developments related to the care of patients with chest drains. The data were collected using survey method. The results of the study revealed deficits in knowledge in a selected group of nurses and a paucity of resources. Nurse managers are encouraged to identify educational needs in this area, improve resources and the delivery of in service and web-based education and to encourage nurses to reflect upon their own knowledge deficits through portfolio use and ongoing professional development.

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Author information

Author/s: Lehwaldt, Daniela (D); Timmins, Fiona (F);

Affiliation: School of Nursing, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of nursing management (J Nurs Manag), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 15 (issue 2) : pp 142-8

Dates: Created 2007/03/13; Completed 2007/05/17; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 17352696, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attitude of Health Personnel
Chest Tubes
Clinical Competence
Consensus
Drainage - nursing
Education, Nursing, Continuing - organization & administration
Evidence-Based Medicine
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Inservice Training - organization & administration

Male
Needs Assessment - organization & administration
Nurse Administrators - organization & administration
Nurse's Role
Nursing Education Research
Nursing Methodology Research
Nursing Staff, Hospital - education; psychology
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Questionnaires
Self Efficacy
Thoracostomy - nursing

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