Document Type
DNP Project
Department
School of Nursing
Date of Degree
Spring 2022
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Primary Advisor
Karen Kesten, DNP, APRN, CCNS, FAAN; Ann LoBasso, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Keywords
ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP); ventilator-care bundle (VCB) interventions
Abstract
Background: In many hospitals, patients requiring mechanical ventilation are managed in an intensive care unit (ICU) or a unit that requires a higher level of care compared to a medical-surgical unit. Patients on mechanical ventilation are susceptible to acquiring ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) if precautionary measures are not taken.
Aims/Objectives: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to assess if after an identified group of critical care registered nurses (RN) participated in an education session on ventilator-associated pneumonia and ventilator-care bundle (VCB) interventions, would their knowledge be enhanced, would the RNs implement the knowledge learned into their practice, and if the RNs documentation compliance on completion of the interventions would improve.
Methods: An education program based on national guidelines and evidence-based VAP bundle interventions was developed and implemented. The RN group participated in a pre-intervention knowledge assessment test, an education session, a post-intervention knowledge assessment test and self-assessment survey. Assessment test data, self-assessment survey data and the organization’s Infection Prevention’s quarterly data was reviewed to identify improvement in the RNs documentation.
Results: Thirty MICU RNs participated in the study. The results of the project showed there was a significant difference in correct responses between post-test and pre-test, p<0.05 showing that an additional 7.33 RNs on average answered questions correctly as opposed to pre-test. There was no significant difference noted in the RNs documentation compliance from chart review audit data completed by the organization’s Infection Prevention Department in 4th Quarter 2021 to 1st Quarter 2022.
Conclusion: VAP education was successfully implemented to a portion of the critical nurses that agreed to participate in the study. In addition to continuation of Infection Prevention’s auditing of patient’s charts for documentation compliance, an increase in monthly observational audits should be conducted to validate completion of bundle intervention tasks. Further study is needed with inclusion of the organization’s other critical care units and further consideration for education sessions on VAP to be completed during annual competencies.
Copyright Notice
©2022 Keesha L. Holmes. All rights reserved.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Holmes, K. L. (2022). Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Bundle Compliance: A Quality Improvement Project. , (). Retrieved from https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/son_dnp/121
Open Access
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