Date of Graduation

Spring 5-18-2023

Document Access

Project/Capstone - Global access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Program

MSN project

First Advisor

Dr. Theresa Mostasisa

Abstract

Problem: Sepsis is a life-threatening response to infection that remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Based off results obtained from a pre-education survey of nurses on a medical-surgical unit in a large hospital organization, there is an opportunity to increase knowledge and confidence level regarding sepsis and care of septic patients so that nurses are prepared to detect sepsis early and intervention can begin.

Context: The project is being conducted in a medical-surgical unit at a large hospital organization in Northern California. The data from the survey includes 17 nurses on the unit who completed the pre-education survey on February 15, 2023, by Dr. Theresa Mostasisa.

Interventions: Nurses on the unit will be educated on sepsis through a handout presented at the monthly staff meeting. This handout will also be distributed on the unit in order to increase nurse awareness regarding sepsis along with the facility’s protocol surrounding the timed sepsis bundle requirements.

Measures: The anonymous pre-education survey was distributed to nurses on the medical-surgical unit to gain an understanding of the nurses’ knowledge and confidence in recognizing and managing patients diagnosed with sepsis. The survey includes five quantitative data-based questions to assess individual knowledge and confidence level and one qualitative data-based question which attempts to recognize the respondent’s familiarity with the facility’s sepsis bundle requirements. After education has taken place, the same survey questions will be given as a post-education survey in order to determine if the intervention was successful.

Results: Due to time constraints, the post-education survey results were not obtained. Based off evidence-based practice, this intervention will be successful. A study conducted by Chua et al. (2022) found that education and sepsis training results in higher knowledge and confidence scores when surveyed. A study conducted by Choy et al. (2022) found educational programs to be effective and provide a positive effect on knowledge outcomes which leads to improvements in patient outcomes. A study by Yousefi et al. (2012) concluded that and educational workshop improved knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses in the study.

Conclusions: Nurses are placed in a unique position at the bedside to respond quickly and efficiently if a patient is showing warning signs for developing sepsis. Through educational initiatives, the hospital can support nurses by ensuring they have a high knowledge and confidence level in recognizing and caring for patients with sepsis to ensure high-quality, safe care is provided.

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