Educational needs of nurses in intensive care unit for poisoned patients

Poisoned patients are at risk of impaired ventilation in many situations. The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the impact of educational workshops on nurses' knowledge, confidence, and attitude in taking care of poisoned patients. This descriptive study was performed on 60 nursing staff in the intensive care unit [ICU] for poisoned patients in Imam Reza [p] hospital, Mashhad, Iran. Data was gathered by a researcher-designed questionnaire. Studied scales included perceived importance and novelty of educational meeting, matching with professional and educational needs, illustration of practical and knowledge weaknesses and strength and finally satisfaction in holding regular workshops annually. Two, half day workshops were held and various items were taught with various methods. The knowledge of participants was assessed by pretests and post-tests consisting of 12 items related to workshop topics. The impact of these educational meetings was evaluated and the results were analyzed by the SPSS software. According to the results, workshops improved awareness of nurses about their weakness and strength points, professional knowledge and their interest and attention; likewise all participants had the same opinion about a strong need to hold similar workshops more than once and preferably 2 to 3 times annually. It seems that short educational courses in small groups for reviewing the old data and recent findings in the context of critical care are useful in order to promote the knowledge and skills of ICU staff in taking care of poisoned patients.