Dysphagia management by nurses in Spanish intensive care units.

INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: Dysphagia is a disorder that presents with specific signs and symptoms in critically ill patients. Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses are responsible for monitoring and detecting abnormalities in critically ill patients, so they must be trained to assess swallowing and the complications that may arise. The aim of this research is to analyse the dynamics of the detection and assessment of dysphagia by ICU nurses. METHOD: Cross-sectional descriptive study using an electronic questionnaire to nurses from different Spanish ICUs. The survey was adapted from previous research and consisted of 6 sections with 30 items of qualitative questions. The collection period was between December 2022 and March 2023. Statistical analysis was performed using frequencies and percentages, and the Chi-Square test was used for bivariate analysis. OUTCOMES: 43 nurses were recruited. Dysphagia is considered an important problem (90,7%) but in 50,3% of the units there is no standard or care protocol for this disorder. The most common technique is the swallowing test (32,6%). There is a consensus in our sample that aspiration pneumonia is the main problem; however, nurses in the busiest care units consider sepsis to be a frequent complication (p = ,029). The most common treatment is modification of food consistency (86,0%). CONCLUSION: The findings of this research show a low systematisation of dysphagia screening in the units included. There is a need for greater implementation of interventions and clinical protocols for monitoring complications as well as for compensatory and rehabilitative management.

Intersectionality and Inclusive Serious Illness Communication in the Intensive Care Unit.

Serious illness communication can be especially distressing for patients who are critically ill and their loved ones who experience forms of discrimination based on identities such as their race, gender, sexual orientation, and other intersecting identities. In this article, we discuss the concept of intersectionality and its association with serious illness communication, decision-making, and care in the intensive care unit. Additionally, we present relevant concepts from clinical practice and contemporary nursing and health care literature to support critical care nurses in fostering more inclusive serious illness communication in the intensive care unit.

Learning from patient safety incidents: The Green Cross method.

BACKGROUND: Hospitals can improve how they learn from patient safety incidents. The Green Cross method, a proactive reporting and learning method, is one strategy to meet this challenge. In it, nurses play a key role. However, describing its impact on learning from the users' perspective is important. AIM: This study aimed to describe nurses' experiences of learning from patient safety incidents before and 3 months after implementing the Green Cross method in a postanaesthesia care unit. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative study with an inductive descriptive design with focus group interviews was conducted before and 3 months after implementing the Green Cross method to assess its impact. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The study was conducted in a postanaesthesia care unit in a Norwegian hospital trust. RESULTS: Before implementing the Green Cross method, participants indicated limited openness and learning, including the subcategories 'Lack of openness hampers learning', 'Adverse events were taken seriously' and 'Insufficient visible improvements'. After implementing the Green Cross method, participants indicated the emergence of a learning environment, including the subcategories 'Transparency increases learning', 'Increased patient safety awareness' and 'Committed to quality improvements'. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the Green Cross method in a postanaesthesia care unit positively impacted openness and nurses' patient safety awareness, which is crucial for learning and improving quality. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The Green Cross method could be useful for organizational learning and facilitating learning from patient safety incidents through transparency, discussion and involvement of nursing staff.

Pass or fail: Teachers' experience of assessment of postgraduate critical care nursing students' competence in placement. A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Learning in placement is essential to postgraduate critical care nursing students' education. Assessment of students' competence in placement is important to ensure highly qualified postgraduate critical care nurses. The placement model applied in Norway involves students being assessed by a preceptor in practice and a teacher from the university. The teacher has a more distant role in placement, and the aim of this study was to explore how the teachers experience the assessment of postgraduate critical care nursing students' competence in placement. Additionally, to explore the content of assessment documents used for postgraduate critical care nursing placement education in Norway. METHODS: This study has a qualitative design with main data collection from individual interviews with 10 teachers from eight universities and colleges in Norway. Additionally, we performed a document analysis of assessment documents from all 10 universities and colleges providing postgraduate critical care nursing education in Norway. We followed the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. RESULTS: The teachers experienced the assessment of postgraduate critical care nursing students' competence in placement as important but complex, and some found it difficult to determine what critical care nursing competence is at advanced level. A thematic analysis resulted in one main theme: "Teacher facilitates the bridging between education and practice." Furthermore, three themes were identified: "Assessment based on trust and shared responsibility"; "The teacher's dual role as judge and supervisor"; and "A need for common, clear and relevant assessment criteria". CONCLUSIONS: Teachers have a key role in placement as they contribute to the bridging between education and practice by providing valuable pedagogical and academic input to the assessment process. We suggest that more teachers should be employed in joint university and clinical positions to enhance the collaboration between practice and education. Clear and relevant assessment criteria are essential for providing assessment support for both students and educators. Education and practice should collaborate on developing assessment criteria. Further, there is a need to collaborate on developing, both nationally and internationally, common, clear, relevant and user-friendly assessment tools.

The advancement of critical care nursing as a response to the current demands.

The current demand on health services requires that nurses play a key role, by adapting their competencies to different fields and complexity levels. The approach of situations presented by critically ill patients underpins the need for development of specialised competencies in specific areas such as patient safety, prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections, performance of specific techniques and interventions, autonomous medication management or the use of technology, among others. Spain relies on a specialist training programme that is unique worldwide. Training admission is managed through a contract as a "Resident Nurse Intern" (EIR, Enfermera Interna Residente), provided by regional healthcare services. Only 6 specialities have been established and developed, in an uneven manner and with a short provision of places, annually. Given that the specialization in critical care nursing does not exist, nurses usually self-fund their postgraduate training to enhance their opportunities career development. The development of a speciality for critical care nursing is a priority. The models proposed advocate for creating nursing roles that could cover the systemic gaps through the expansion of their competencies and the introduction of procedures that fit nursing into advanced practice, which could be achieved through Advanced Accreditation Diplomas. Simultaneously, it would be convenient to analyse how and why such a dynamic discipline in some countries became stuck in anachronistic models of the Spanish healthcare system. This analysis might contribute to move forward on the development of areas of improvement in terms of service access and quality of care.

Measuring pain or discomfort during routine nursing care in lightly sedated mechanically ventilated intensive care patients: A prospective preliminary cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pain is routinely measured on mechanically ventilated ICU patients. However, the tools used are not designed to discriminate between pain and non-pain discomfort, a distinction with therapeutic implications. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether clinical measurement tools can discern both pain and non-pain discomfort. METHODS: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted in a General ICU at a tertiary Medical Center in Israel. The Behavior Pain Scale (BPS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of Discomfort were simultaneously assessed by a researcher and bedside nurse on thirteen lightly sedated patients during 71 routine nursing interventions in lightly sedated, mechanically ventilated, adult patients. Patients were asked whether they were in pain due to these interventions. RESULTS: Statistically significant increases from baseline during interventions were observed [median change: 1.00 (-1-5), 1.5(-4-8.5), p < 0.001] as measured by BPS and VAS Discomfort Scale, respectively. BPS scores ranged between 4 and 6 when the majority (53 %) of the patients replied that they had no pain but were interpreted by the clinicians as discomfort. Endotracheal suctioning caused the greatest increase in BPS and VAS, with no statistically significant differences in BPS and VAS Discomfort Scale scores whether patients reported or did not report pain. A BPS>6 had a higher sensitivity and specificity to reported pain (accuracy of 76 %) compared to a BPS of 4-6. CONCLUSIONS: Standard assessments are sensitive to pain caused by routine nursing care interventions. However, this study presents evidence that among lightly sedated ICU patients, moderate BPS scores could also measure non-pain discomfort. ICU nurses should be aware that signs of unpleasantness measured by a pain scale could reflect non-pain discomfort.

Parents' perceptions of factors influencing sleep in pediatric intensive care units: A qualitative study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing sleep in pediatric intensive care units as perceived by parents of critically ill children. DESIGN AND METHODS: This descriptive qualitative study used individual semistructured interviews. Parents were recruited through purposive sampling from two pediatric intensive care units at two locations in one university hospital in Norway. Ten parents were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using a six-phase reflexive thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The analysis produced 17 subthemes under four main themes: environmental factors in the pediatric intensive care unit disturb children's sleep, children need trust and safety to sleep, nurses' cooperation with parents influences children's sleep, and nurses' structuring of their practices is fundamental to sleep promotion. CONCLUSION: The parents found that the environment disturbed their children's sleep, and environmental factors were easier to control in single rooms than in multibed rooms. Children slept better when they felt safe and trusted the nurses, and parents desired more cooperation in promoting sleep for their children, which may be an essential and overlooked part of sleep promotion. Nurses varied considerably in how they prioritized sleep and structured their practices to promote sleep. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Nurses should take parents' experiences into account to better promote sleep for patients. By limiting environmental disturbances, building relationships with children to make them feel safe, including parents in sleep promotion, and prioritizing sleep in their practices, nurses could improve sleep quality and limit the consequences of sleep disturbance.

Upskill training and preparedness of non-critical-care registered nurses deployed to intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: The increase in intensive care unit (ICU) capacity compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic required the rapid deployment of non-critical-care registered nurses to the ICU setting. The upskill training needed to prepare these registered nurses for deployment was rapidly assembled due to the limited timeframe associated with the escalating pandemic. Scoping the literature to identify the content, structure, and effectiveness of the upskill education provided is necessary to identify lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic response so that they may guide workforce preparation for future surge planning. AIM: The aim of this scoping review was to map the literature to identify the available information regarding upskill training and preparedness of non-critical-care registered nurses deployed to the ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This scoping review was conducted in accordance with JBI methodology. A protocol outlined the review questions and used the participants, concept, and context framework to define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A search of healthcare databases MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane, and Scopus was supplemented with a grey literature search via Google. RESULTS: Screening and review found 32 manuscripts that met the inclusion criterion for examination. Analysis revealed variation in duration of programs, theoretical versus practical content, face-to-face or online mode of delivery, and duration of preparation time at the bedside in the ICU setting. Data on contributors to preparedness for deployment were sparse but included training, support, peer education, buddy time, and clarity around responsibilities and communication. DISCUSSION: Evaluation of upskill education was mostly limited to post-training surveys. Few studies explored the preparedness of deployed registered nurses as an outcome of their upskill training or described measures of effectiveness of ICU deployment. CONCLUSION: There is limited evidence describing preparedness of non-critical-care registered nurses on deployment to the ICU. Further research is needed to identify what elements of upskill education led to preparedness and effective deployment to the ICU setting.

Use of nursing care bundles for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in low-middle income countries: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a significant concern in low-middle-income countries (LMICs), where the burden of hospital-acquired infections is high, and resources are low. Evidence-based guidelines exist for preventing VAP; however, these guidelines may not be adequately utilized in intensive care units of LMICs. AIM: This scoping review examined the literature regarding the use of nursing care bundles for VAP prevention in LMICs, to understand the knowledge, practice and compliance of nurses to these guidelines, as well as the barriers preventing the implementation of these guidelines. STUDY DESIGN: The review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) five-stage framework and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines guided reporting. Searches were performed across six databases: CINAHL, Medline, Embase, Global Health, Scopus and Cochrane, resulting in 401 studies. RESULTS: After screening all studies against the eligibility criteria, 21 studies were included in the data extraction stage of the review. Across the studies, the knowledge and compliance of nurses regarding VAP prevention were reported as low to moderate. Several factors, ranging from insufficient knowledge to a lack of adequate guidelines for VAP management, served as contributing factors. Multiple barriers prevented nurses from adhering to VAP guidelines effectively, including a lack of audit/surveillance, absence of infection prevention and control (IPC) teams and inadequate training opportunities. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the need for adequate quality improvement procedures and more efforts to conduct and translate research into practice in intensive care units in LMIC. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: IPC practices are vital to protect vulnerable patients in intensive care units from developing infections and complications that worsen their prognosis. Critical care nurses should be trained and reinforced to practice effective bundle care to prevent VAP.

Understanding the provision of goal-concordant care in the intensive care unit: A sequential two-phase qualitative descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Goal-concordant care in intensive care is care that aligns with the patient's expressed goals, values, preferences and beliefs. Communication and shared decision-making are key to ensuring goal-concordant care. AIMS: The aims of his study were to explore (i) critical care clinicians' perspectives on how patient goals of care were communicated between clinicians, patients, and family in the intensive care unit; (ii) critical care nurses' role in this process; and (iii) how goals of care were used to guide care. METHOD: Sequential two-phase qualitative descriptive design. Data were collected from February to June 2022 in a level-3 intensive care unit in a private hospital in Melbourne, Australia. In Phase One, individual interviews were conducted with critical care nurse participants (n = 11). In Phase Two, the findings were presented to senior clinical leaders (n = 2) to build a more comprehensive understanding. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's six step reflexive thematic analysis. FINDINGS: There was poor consensus on the term 'goals of care', with some participants referring to daily treatment goals or treatment limitations and others to patients' wishes and expectations beyond the ICU. Critical care nurses perceived themselves as information brokers and patient advocates responsible for ensuring patient goals of care were respected, but engaging in goals-of-care conversations was challenging. A lack of role clarity, poor team communication, and inadequate processes to communicate patient goals impeded goal-concordant care. Senior clinical leaders affirmed these views, emphasising the need to utilise critical care nurses' insight for practical solutions to improve patient care. CONCLUSIONS: Clarity in both, the term 'goals of care' and the critical care nurses' role in these conversations, are the essential first steps to ensuring patients' values, preferences, and beliefs to guide shared-decision-making and goal-concordant care. Improved verbal and written communication that is inclusive of all members of the treating team is key to addressing these issues.

Nursing roles in disaster zones: Experiences and lessons from Turkey's 2023 earthquakes.

BACKGROUND: Disasters affect human health and well-being globally. Nursing plays a vital role in disaster preparedness and response, ensuring efficient early care coordination and delivering effective field treatment. AIM: This study investigates the challenges an Israeli humanitarian delegation encountered during their response to major earthquakes in Turkey in 2023. It explicitly focuses on difficulties in preparation, operations, and collaboration with local teams. The study further analyzes the findings and extracts valuable lessons from the mission. METHODS: Using a qualitative descriptive design, 22 out of 32 nurses involved in delegation participated in three focus group discussions within two months of returning to Israel. The discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. The study followed the COREQ guidelines, ensuring comprehensive reporting and methodological rigor in qualitative research. FINDINGS: The study's main findings spanned predeparture preparation, mission challenges in the disaster zone, and postmission lessons, each highlighted by subthemes and participant quotations. A strong sense of mission was evident among the participants, along with frustration at inefficient time management prior to deployment. Many participants noted additional challenges, related to the difficulty of working in multiple languages and across cultures, and the opportunities for resolution. Finally, participants called for better psychological support following the mission. CONCLUSION: Nurses in disaster zones offer valuable insights to enhance preparation, cross-cultural communication, and postmission implementation. NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Nurse managers and healthcare policymakers can utilize this study's findings to develop future nursing training programs in disaster-related skills. Additionally, it can help foster collaboration among international healthcare teams.

Critical care nurses' assessment of writing diaries for adult patients in the intensive care unit - A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patients describe surreal experiences, hallucinations, loss of control, fear, pain, and other discomforts during their stay in intensive care units. Diaries written by critical care nurses can help patients fill-in memory gaps, gain an understanding of their illness after returning home, and enhance recovery. However, critical care nurses have difficulty deciding which patients in the intensive care unit should receive diaries and how to conduct and prioritise this nursing intervention. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore critical care nurses' assessments regarding starting and writing diaries for adult patients in the intensive care unit. METHODS: A qualitative study with an exploratory descriptive design was utilised. Interviews were conducted with 14 critical care nurses from four hospitals. The data were analysed using systematic text condensation and were reported according to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist. FINDINGS: Three categories emerged: patients' disease trajectories and prognoses, tailoring the content and language and balancing time, and resources to create diaries that benefit patients. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst critical care nurses' assessments of the need for diaries are based on patients' disease trajectories and prognoses, patients' conditions can shift rapidly, which makes these assessments challenging. To ensure diary quality, the language and content should be personal and address the individual patient. The time and resources required for diaries are weighed against the benefits to patients. Contributions from colleagues and a common recognition in the intensive care unit of the value of the diaries influence nurses' judgements and are essential for successful diary practices.

Factors that influence critical care nurses' management of sedation for ventilated patients in critical care: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Optimising sedation use is key to timely extubation. Whilst sedation protocols may be used to guide critical care nurses' management of sedation, sedation management and decision-making is complex, influenced by multiple factors related to patients' circumstances, intensive care unit design and the workforce. AIM: To explore (i) critical care nurses' experiences managing sedation in mechanically ventilated patients and (ii) the factors that influence their sedation-related decision-making. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's six-step thematic analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted in a 26-bed level 3 accredited ICU, in a private hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The majority of patients are admitted following elective surgery. Critical care nurses, who were permanently employed as a registered nurse, worked at least 16 h per week, and cared for ventilated patients, were invited to participate. FINDINGS: Thirteen critical care nurses participated. Initially, participants suggested their experiences managing sedation were linked to local unit policy and learning. Further exploration revealed that experiences were synonymous with descriptors of factors influencing sedation decision-making according to three themes: (i) Learning from past experiences, (ii) Situational awareness and (iii) Prioritising safety. Nurses relied on their cumulative knowledge from prior experiences to guide decision-making. Situational awareness about other emergent priorities in the unit, staffing and skill-mix were important factors in guiding sedation decision-making. Safety of patients and staff was essential, at times overriding goals to reduce sedation. CONCLUSION: Sedation decision making cannot be considered in isolation. Rather, sedation decision making must take into account outcomes of patient assessment, emergent priorities, unit and staffing factors and safety concerns. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Opportunities for ongoing education are essential to promote nurses' situational awareness of other emergent unit priorities, staffing and skill-mix, in addition to evidence-based sedation management and decision making.

Dynamic delirium - Nursing intervention to reduce delirium in patients critically Ill, a randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of a nursing intervention based on the Dynamic Symptom Model (DSM) and scientific evidence versus daily care in reducing the incidence and duration of delirium in intensive care patients. METHOD: We designed the intervention named "DyDel" (By Dynamic Delirium) based on the theoretical approach of the DSM and from scientific evidence. A double-masked clinical trial of parallel groups was developed to test DyDel, with 213 patients older than 18 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) randomized to the study groups. The intervention group received DyDel each shift from day 0 until discharged from the ICU, while the control group received daily care in the ICU. At the same time, all participants were followed to measure primary (incidence and duration of delirium) and secondary outcomes (level of sedation and pain, days of mechanical ventilation, stay in ICU, and physical restriction). RESULTS: Overall, the study population were older than 60 years (60.3 ± 15.2 years), the male gender (59.6 %), and the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (73.7 %) were predominant. Comparing groups of study, the incidence of delirium was lower in the intervention group (5.6 %) than in the control group (14.8 %) (p = 0.037). The intervention group had lower days with delirium (0.07 ± 0.308) than the control group (0.34 ± 1.28) (p = 0.016), lower pain intensity (p = 0.002) and lower days of physical restraints (p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: Non-pharmacological care, like the DyDel intervention, includes the family and focuses on the different patient's needs, which can help to reduce the incidence and duration of delirium in patients admitted to adult ICUs. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: DyDel was non-pharmacological and included the family. The DyDel's activities were focused on physiological, psychological, spiritual, and social needs and the experience and trajectory of delirium. The nurse can give humanized care in the ICU by applying DyDel.

A respiratory critical care nurse training program for settings without a registered respiratory therapists: A protocol for a multimethod study.

BACKGROUND: The increasing elderly population and prevalence of chronic diseases have raised the need for ICU beds. However, limited bed availability often causes delays in admission, leading to wasted treatment time. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to create and implement a training program for respiratory critical care nurses (RCCNs) in settings without registered respiratory therapists (RRTs). METHODOLOGY/DESIGN: The study will use a multimethod sequential research design, including a scoping review, content analysis, Delphi methods, and a randomized clinical trial. The scoping review will gather extensive information on respiratory care for critically ill patients and the responsibilities of RCCNs. Content analysis and expert interviews will identify opportunities and challenges in RCCNs' provision of respiratory care. The Delphi method will integrate the results to develop a comprehensive training program for RCCNs. Subsequently, five RCCNs will undergo theoretical and practical examinations after completing the three-month training program, and the impact of RCCNs on critically ill patients' outcomes will be evaluated through a clinical trial. ANTICIPATED FINDINGS: The study aims to provide a comprehensive training program for RCCNs and investigate its impact on the outcomes of critically ill patients through a clinical trial. CONCLUSION: The training program will equip RCCNs with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide respiratory critical care from the emergency department to hospital discharge. This pioneering study aims to improve patient outcomes in settings without RRTs by offering a unique program for RCCNs. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: The development and implementation of this training program for RCCNs in settings without RRTs will address the gap in respiratory care and potentially improve patient outcomes. By empowering RCCNs with specialized training, healthcare facilities can ensure the provision of high-quality respiratory care throughout a patient's critical illness journey, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare teams, especially in resource-limited settings.

Design and content validation of a checklist about infection-prevention performance of intensive care nurses in simulation-based scenarios.

OBJECTIVE: To design, develop and validate a new tool, called NEUMOBACT, to evaluate critical care nurses' knowledge and skills in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and catheter-related bacteraemia (CRB) prevention through simulation scenarios involving central venous catheter (CVC), endotracheal suctioning (ETS) and mechanically ventilated patient care (PC) stations. BACKGROUND: Simulation-based training is an excellent way for nurses to learn prevention measures in VAP and CRB. DESIGN: Descriptive metric study to develop NEUMOBACT and analyse its content and face validity that followed the COSMIN Study Design checklist for patient-reported outcome measurement instruments. METHODS: The first version was developed with the content of training modules in use at the time (NEUMOBACT-1). Delphi rounds were used to assess item relevance with experts in VAP and CRB prevention measures, resulting in NEUMOBACT-2. Experts in simulation methods then assessed feasibility, resulting in NEUMOBACT-3. Finally, a pilot test was conducted among 30 intensive care unit (ICU) nurses to assess the applicability of the evaluation tool in clinical practice. RESULTS: Seven national experts in VAP and CRB prevention and seven national simulation experts participated in the analysis to assess the relevance and feasibility of each item, respectively. After two Delphi rounds with infection experts, four Delphi rounds with simulation experts, and pilot testing with 30 ICU nurses, the NEUMOBACT-FINAL tool consisted of 17, 26 and 21 items, respectively, for CVC, ETS and PC. CONCLUSION: NEUMOBACT-FINAL is useful and valid for assessing ICU nurses' knowledge and skills in VAP and CRB prevention, acquired through simulation. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Our validated and clinically tested tool could facilitate the transfer of ICU nurses' knowledge and skills learning in VAP and CRB prevention to critically ill patients, decreasing infection rates and, therefore, improving patient safety. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Experts participated in the Delphi rounds and nurses in the pilot test.

An exploration of intensive care nurses' perceptions of workload in providing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support: A descriptive qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in intensive care, where nurses provide the majority of the required ongoing care of cannulas, circuit, and console. Limited evidence currently exists that details nursing perspectives, experiences, and challenges with workload in the provision of ECMO care. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate intensive care nurses' perceptions of workload in providing specialist ECMO therapy and care in a high-volume ECMO centre. METHODS: The study used a qualitative descriptive methodology through semistructured interviews. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach following Braun and Clarke's iterative process. This study was conducted in an intensive care unit within an Australian public, quaternary, university-affiliated hospital, which provides specialist state-wide service for ECMO. FINDINGS: Thirty ECMO-specialist trained intensive care nurses were interviewed. This study identified three key themes: (i) opportunity; (ii) knowledge and responsibilities; and (iii) systems and structures impacting on intensive care nurses' workload in providing ECMO supportive therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Intensive care nurses require advanced clinical and critical thinking skills. Intensive care nurses are motivated and engaged to learn and acquire ECMO skills and competency as part of their ongoing professional development. Providing bedside ECMO management requires constant monitoring and surveillance from nurses to care for the one of the most critically unwell patient populations in the intensive care unit setting. As such, ECMO nursing services require a suitably trained and educated workforce of intensive care trained nurses. ECMO services provide clinical development opportunities for nurses, increase their scope of practice, and create advanced practice-specialist roles.

From Anxiety to Hardiness: The Role of Self-Efficacy in Spanish CCU Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background and Objectives: Evidence shows that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses suffered from emotional symptoms, yet in spite of this, few studies within "positive psychology" have analyzed the emergence/promotion of positive traits, such as hardiness. In this context, the present study aimed to test a model regarding the mediating role of self-efficacy between anxiety experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and hardiness assessed six months later among nurses in critical care units (CCU) in Spain. Materials and Methods: An observational, descriptive, prospective longitudinal study with two data collection periods: (1) from the 1 to the 21 June 2020 (final phase of the state of alarm declared in Spain on 14 March) in which socio-demographic and occupational variables, anxiety (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, DASS-21), self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale, GSES) and basal resilience (Resilience Scale-14, RS-14) were assessed, and (2) a follow-up 6 months later (January-March 2021) in which hardiness (Occupational Hardiness Questionnaire, OHQ) was evaluated. To analyze the data, multivariate regressions were performed using the PROCESS macro (simple mediation, model 4). Results: A total of 131 Spanish nurses from CCUs, with a mean age of 40.54 years (88.5% women) participated in the study. Moderate and severe levels of anxiety were observed in 19.1% of the sample. Significant and positive correlations were observed between self-efficacy, hardiness and resilience (all p < 0.001). Significant negative correlations were observed between anxiety and self-efficacy (p < 0.001), hardiness (p = 0.027) and resilience (p = 0.005). The indirect effect of anxiety on hardiness through self-efficacy was significant (Effect (SE) = -0.275 (0.100); LLCI = -0.487, ULCI = -0.097), contributing to 28% of the variance, including resilience (p = 0.015), age (p = 0.784), gender (p = 0.294) and years of experience (p = 0.652) as covariates. A total mediation was observed (non-significant anxiety-hardiness direct effect; Effect (SE) = -0.053 (0.215), t = 0.248, p = 0.804, LLCI = -0.372, ULCI = 0.479). Conclusions: The results suggest that in Spanish CCU nurses, anxiety experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to the development of hardiness through positive resources such as self-efficacy.