Mechanical Ventilation Didactic and Simulation Training: Improving Confidence and Competence in Rural Intensive Care Unit Nurses

Background: Rural intensive care nurses infrequently care for critically ill patients who are mechanically ventilated. Proper mechanical ventilation education is needed to ensure patient safety and reduce transfers to outside facilities. Methods: This project aimed to improve nurses\u27 self-perceived confidence and observed competence of care for patients on mechanical ventilation by provision of didactic and a low fidelity simulation training. Prior to, immediately after, and six weeks after the training, nurses were evaluated to determine post-intervention changes in confidence using the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale and competence using a check-list. Results: The GSE scores at six weeks were higher (p=0.006) compared to the pre low fidelity simulation scores. The competence checklist did not show a significant difference (p=0.109) from pre simulation scores to post simulation scores. However, seven out of ten scores stayed the same, and no scores decreased. Discussion: The results showed that didactic and low fidelity simulation improved the confidence of the participants. An overall improvement of competence was observed when comparing the mean scores. Implications for practice: The project provided support for continuing didactic and low fidelity simulation training in this rural intensive care setting. Future projects should include the assessment of quality of care measures