Date of Award

Fall 2020

Degree Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Committee Chair

Dr. Michong Rayborn

Committee Chair School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Committee Member 2

Dr. Nina McLain

Committee Member 2 School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Abstract

Developing interdisciplinary teamwork and patient communication skills are essential for the student registered nurse anesthetist (SRNA) to provide quality patient care when administering epidural anesthesia. The synthesis of the evidence revealed limited available information on simulation use for SRNA epidural administration and collaboration. This doctoral project examined the effectiveness of learning through traditional simulation to enhance communication and collaboration between the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and the Nurse Anesthesia Program (NAP) students. The BSN and NAP students were provided with a simulation environment to care for a laboring patient while improving patient safety and quality outcomes. The project comprised 5 collaborative simulation sessions lasting 15 to 20 minutes, each with 5 NAP and 5 BSN students.

A Scenario Planning Worksheet with objectives and checklist were provided to BSN participants. An Epidural Objective list and Checklist was provided to NAP participants. Each participant was given a Likert Scale Survey, Debriefing Survey, and Focus Group Questionnaire for evaluation of the effectiveness of the simulation. During the simulation experience, each participant performed well in skills such as verifying pertinent patient information, history, and physical assessment. Each participant had communication deficiencies within the groups such as the process of initiating a timeout before the procedure, communicating signs and symptoms of local anesthetic intravascular injection to the patient, and continued collaboration with the team member throughout the simulation. The project was beneficial overall based on the finalized mean results of the participants, BSN 83% and NAP 93%, suggesting the simulation improved clinical performance, teamwork, communication, and was a valuable learning experience.

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