Authors: (including presenting author): :
Pun KL(1), Yuen SY(1), Chan YY(2), Siu SY(3), Ma KW(4), Wong KW(1)
Affiliation: :
(1) Nursing Services Division, Tung Wah Eastern Hospital (TWEH)
(2) Department of Medicine & Rehabilitation, TWEH
(3) Department of Ophthalmology, TWEH
(4) Nursing Services Division, Wong Chuk Hang Hospital (WCHH)
Keyword 2: :
Clinical safety
Keyword 3: :
ward operation
Introduction: :
Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs), who are often in charge of daily shifts, need to be familiar with numerous essential policies and guidelines to ensure smooth ward operations. At TWEH and WCHH, over 50% (n=20) of APNs had three years or less APN experience. To strengthen APNs' competence in their managerial roles and ensure compliance with existing policies and guidelines, an integrated reference kit was developed, followed by serial training sessions and self-study.
Objectives: :
Develop an integrated reference kit for APNs at TWEH and WCHH.
Implement strategies to facilitate a better understanding of essential policies and guidelines among APN In-Charges (ICs).
Methodology: :
In collaboration with key stakeholders from the Nursing Services Division (NSD) and Clinical Departments, we collected suggestions from various platforms to understand the current challenges and enhancement needs of APNs. After review and consultation with different ranks of nursing staff, we compiled 39 items covering various issues related to daily operations, staff issues, patient care, pharmacy information, infection control, emergency response, IT systems, incident management, and nursing standards and guidelines. A pre-implementation online survey was designed to collect APNs' self-rating confidence levels on various clinical issues. The results were reviewed and analyzed to guide the training plan. For promulgation and staff training, a roster was set up for all APNs at TWEH and WCHH to share essential clinical operations. Each APN was responsible for a few issues and conducted sharing sessions in various serial seminars.
Result & Outcome: :
22 APNs participated in the pre-survey/baseline review (response rate: 61%). Policies and guidelines that received lower confidence ratings were prioritized for training sessions. All contents of the reference kit were uploaded to the intranet for quick access. Training sessions were arranged every two to three months. The APNs Integrated Reference Kit facilitated junior APNs' ability to take on managerial roles in daily operations. The experience gained could serve as a solid foundation for further development of APNs' training.
