Date of Paper/Work
5-2023
Type of Paper/Work
Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Stacey Hurrell
Department/School
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Abstract
Problem: Air National Guard Registered Nurses and Emergency Medical Technicians often lack exposure to hands on training, regarding the medical skills required for deployment, which can affect their preparedness to support the Air National Guard’s federal and state missions.
Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to determine if hands-on-exposure through the use of simulation, increased the confidence of one Air National Guard unit in Mississippi.
Method: A single group, pre- and post-survey design was used to compare confidence levels for Registered Nurses and Emergency Medical Technicians of the Air National Guard unit receiving hands on exposure to their required comprehensive medical readiness skills through simulation. The simulation was designed around the comprehensive medical readiness checklist, which consists of six skills and ten pieces of equipment, the participants rated when they last had hands-on exposure to each skill and equipment. Additionally, the participants rated their initial confidence level to perform the skill or use the equipment if deployed, and rated their confidence level post exposure to hands on simulation.
Findings: Registered nurses and emergency medical technicians showed an overall increase in confidence levels regarding their deployment readiness skills and equipment after using simulation as a form of hands-on exposure. There was a 27.8% increase in exposure time with 100% of participants stating they were now exposed to the skill within the last 2 years, yielding an overall increase in confidence levels of 30.5%. Additionally, there was a 30.5% increase in exposure time with 79.2% of participants stating they were now exposed to the deployment medical equipment within the last 2 years, yielding an overall increase in confidence of 33.4%. At the end of the project, 91.6% of the participants strongly agreed/agreed that the simulation opportunities provided had better prepared them as Air National Guard registered nurses or emergency medical technicians. Additionally, 91.6% of participants stated they felt the simulation opportunities helped increase their confidence to perform the skills and use the equipment the Air National Guard requires for them to deploy.
Implications for Practice: Military registered nurses, and emergency medical technicians must perform many skills they may not have hands-on exposure to in their civilian or daily job. Military nursing leaders should acknowledge that their personnel may lack the confidence to perform all required skills required to deploy. This project demonstrated that hands-on exposure through simulation increased the confidence of RNs and EMTs performing skills in an Air National Guard unit.
Recommended Citation
Schiefer, Louise M.. (2023). Implementing Hands on Training for Air National Guard Registered Nurses and Emergency Medical Technicians. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/dnp_projects/191