Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project

Self-awareness among nurses involved in inter-hospital transport is crucial, as recognizing their limitations helps them improve their skills and make better use of tools that support inter-hospital transport, ultimately resulting in more efficient care. <b>Objectives:</b> To evaluate nu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mariana Duarte, Cristina Costeira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Emergency Care and Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2813-7914/2/1/9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849342119839268864
author Mariana Duarte
Cristina Costeira
author_facet Mariana Duarte
Cristina Costeira
author_sort Mariana Duarte
collection DOAJ
description Self-awareness among nurses involved in inter-hospital transport is crucial, as recognizing their limitations helps them improve their skills and make better use of tools that support inter-hospital transport, ultimately resulting in more efficient care. <b>Objectives:</b> To evaluate nurses’ self-perceived competences in an emergency department in Portugal regarding the inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients, implement interventions to facilitate the development of nurses’ competences, and evaluate the interventions carried out. <b>Methods:</b> A quality improvement project was conducted in three phases. The first phase involved a diagnostic study, the second phase focused on implementing interventions to improve nurses’ performance, and the third phase consisted of a descriptive study to evaluate the interventions implemented. <b>Results:</b> A total of 40 nurses participated in the study, with an average age of 39 (39.10 ± 11.83) years old, an average of 16 (16.09 ± 11.06) years of professional nursing experience, and an average of 11 (10.94 ± 10.91) years of experience in inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients. The nursing records during inter-hospital transport received the lowest self-perception rating, prompting the implementation of an intervention in the form of a nursing records checklist. <b>Conclusions:</b> The interventions implemented led to a change in self-perceptions of competence. Nurses’ self-awareness of their competences and limitations is crucial to deliver safe and quality nursing care. Providing opportunities for reflection on skills is therefore crucial to improving care delivery and encouraging the development of professional skills, attitudes, and behaviors.
format Article
id doaj-art-0ebe1f3fd81c4acabb47b9863ba71edb
institution Kabale University
issn 2813-7914
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Emergency Care and Medicine
spelling doaj-art-0ebe1f3fd81c4acabb47b9863ba71edb2025-08-20T03:43:30ZengMDPI AGEmergency Care and Medicine2813-79142025-02-0121910.3390/ecm2010009Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement ProjectMariana Duarte0Cristina Costeira1Emergency Room in Local Health Unit from Baixo Mondego, 3094-001 Figueira da Foz, PortugalSchool of Health Sciences, Polytechnic University of Leiria, Campus 2, Morro do Lena, Alto do Vieiro, Apartado 4137, 2411-901 Leiria, PortugalSelf-awareness among nurses involved in inter-hospital transport is crucial, as recognizing their limitations helps them improve their skills and make better use of tools that support inter-hospital transport, ultimately resulting in more efficient care. <b>Objectives:</b> To evaluate nurses’ self-perceived competences in an emergency department in Portugal regarding the inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients, implement interventions to facilitate the development of nurses’ competences, and evaluate the interventions carried out. <b>Methods:</b> A quality improvement project was conducted in three phases. The first phase involved a diagnostic study, the second phase focused on implementing interventions to improve nurses’ performance, and the third phase consisted of a descriptive study to evaluate the interventions implemented. <b>Results:</b> A total of 40 nurses participated in the study, with an average age of 39 (39.10 ± 11.83) years old, an average of 16 (16.09 ± 11.06) years of professional nursing experience, and an average of 11 (10.94 ± 10.91) years of experience in inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients. The nursing records during inter-hospital transport received the lowest self-perception rating, prompting the implementation of an intervention in the form of a nursing records checklist. <b>Conclusions:</b> The interventions implemented led to a change in self-perceptions of competence. Nurses’ self-awareness of their competences and limitations is crucial to deliver safe and quality nursing care. Providing opportunities for reflection on skills is therefore crucial to improving care delivery and encouraging the development of professional skills, attitudes, and behaviors.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-7914/2/1/9nursing skills professional competencecritically ill patientsinter-hospital transport
spellingShingle Mariana Duarte
Cristina Costeira
Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project
Emergency Care and Medicine
nursing skills professional competence
critically ill patients
inter-hospital transport
title Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project
title_full Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project
title_fullStr Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project
title_full_unstemmed Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project
title_short Developing Portuguese Nurses’ Skills in Inter-Hospital Transportation of Critically Ill Patients: Quality Improvement Project
title_sort developing portuguese nurses skills in inter hospital transportation of critically ill patients quality improvement project
topic nursing skills professional competence
critically ill patients
inter-hospital transport
url https://www.mdpi.com/2813-7914/2/1/9
work_keys_str_mv AT marianaduarte developingportuguesenursesskillsininterhospitaltransportationofcriticallyillpatientsqualityimprovementproject
AT cristinacosteira developingportuguesenursesskillsininterhospitaltransportationofcriticallyillpatientsqualityimprovementproject