Date of Paper/Work
5-2021
Type of Paper/Work
Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Katrice Ziefle
Department/School
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Abstract
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare teams were faced with unprecedented personal protective equipment (PPE) challenges (Thomas et al., 2020). These constraints required unprecedented PPE use and reuse among health care workers (HCW).This included continual full day use of PPE items, which are historically disposable, single use items changed between patients. These challenges required immediate intervention to keep HCWs, patients, and the community safe. As a result, a team of specially trained observers was established to promote HCW safety. A quality improvement study was launched with the purpose to understand the impact of this team on HCW’s self-efficacy to properly select, don (putting on), and doff (taking off) PPE. The results demonstrated a positive association between the role of the trained observer and increased HCW self-confidence with selecting, donning, and doffing PPE. Subsequently, health care leaders are strongly urged to consider the utility of the trained observer role within their organization during a pandemic or when PPE use recommendations deviate from typical use.
Recommended Citation
Hall, Maggie T.. (2021). Leading Through a Pandemic: The Role of the Trained Observer. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/dnp_projects/133