Authors (including presenting author) :
Ng WS(1), Lau MC(3), Cheng TT(1), So JLY(1), Chan CK(1), Chiu LM(2), Lee YY(1), Chan HL(1), Hai MT(3), Pang HS(3), Choi MW(1), Ho SM(1), Tsang WY(1), Ng SW(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, United Christian Hospital, (2)Department of Electrographic Diagnostic Unit, United Christian Hospital, (3)Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Ruttonjee & Tang Shiu Kin Hospital
Introduction :
Tracheostomy emergencies are not rare but present high mortality and morbidity. Several serious untoward events related to cases with tracheostomy have occurred in the past years. It is important that nurses are competent in managing patients with tracheostomy-related emergencies.
Objectives :
To enhance nurses’ competency on the management of emergencies for tracheostomy care.
Methodology :
A 90 minutes workshop with 1.5 Continuous Nursing Education points granted;
composed of pre- and post-test, lecture and tracheostomy demonstration and scenario-based stations for on-hand workshop. A pre- and post-test, was categorized into three sections:
1) Basic knowledge, 2) Scenario-based questions and
3) Signs and symptoms. An evaluation form with 5-point Likert scale was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the section and guided the development of future workshops.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 28 nurses participated, including 8 Temporary Undergraduated Nursing Students, 1 Enrolled nurse, 11 Registered nurses, 6 Advanced Practice Nurse and 2 Ward manager.
Two identical workshops of emergency tracheostomy care were separately held at the United Christian Hospital and Ruttonjee & Tang Shiu Kin Hospital on 5th September, 2025 and 12th September, 2025.
28 participants have attended the workshop and fully responded to the pre- and post- questionnaire. Overall results showed an improving trend. In 1) Tracheostomy-related basic knowledge, the overall percentage of correct responses increased, especially increased 40% in assessing suction catheter sizing and increased 27.3% in the function of the cuff in a cuffed tracheostomy. 2) The signs and symptoms related to emergencies result in a high rate of 82.1%->82.1%. It may already be understood prior to the training. 3) Scenario-based management of tracheostomy emergencies: Both junior(< 3 years) and senior(>3 years) nurses showed improvement in this section. Improvements were found in junior by 46.7% and senior by 7.7% about blockage of end-tracheostomized patients. The findings indicated that the tracheostomy care continues to be a challenging aspect of clinical practice, especially for junior staff. After the workshop, around 90% of participants expressed the highest level of confidence in differentiating tracheostomy types and managing tracheostomy-related emergencies. Trainer preparation and informative sessions were rated highly. Conclusion: The structured lectures with scenario-based hands-on workshops would strengthen nurses’ competence and confidence on handling tracheostomy-related emergencies. Reducing risk, improving patient safety and continuous professional development were driven by sustained stimulation, multidisciplinary collaboration and refreshment training.
