Authors (including presenting author) :
Siu HY
Introduction :
There were 27 fresh graduated nurses joined the Operating Theatre Services (OTS) department in Aug 2020. Concerning the allocation of new join nurses during the training period, under the situation of session reduction for supporting clinical care of patients suspected or diagnosed with COVID-19, the available practical training sites such as the operating theatre and post-anesthetic care unit (PACU) were decreased and thereafter limited the learning opportunities of the new comers. Thus, the induction program was revised to cope with the challenges.
Objectives :
To revise the induction program aiming at maximizing the learning outcomes of the new join nurses, and to ensure them for having equal learning opportunities.
Methodology :
The induction program was revised to include two modules: 1) the Operating Room (OR) Module, provides training for roles of circulating nurse, scrub nurse and sterile store coordinator; and 2) the Post-anesthetic Care Unit (PACU) Module, provides post-anesthetic care training at PACUs. All new join nurses were divided into three groups, with 9 of them per group, to take turns in participating in the two modules, with two-third of program duration spent on OR Module and one-third of program duration ran for PACU Module. For the OR Module, two groups of 18 trainees were trained with the corresponding roles under the guidance and supervision of floor mentors and sterile store coordinators. For the PACU Module, one-third of the induction program duration was revised as a 10-week PACU training module, for group of 9 trainees at a time, with rotation to PACUs at all floors scheduled. Furthermore, a team of facilitators was formed with experienced PACU nurses, in order to provide coaching to the new join nurses, to enhance the quality of training and follow-up for their progress.
Result & Outcome :
Reviewing the training progress till early Dec 2020, the two groups of 18 new join nurses started their OR Module on different date, ranged from late Aug 2020 to late Sep 2020, in accordance to their registration date. In evaluating their scrubbing records, 83% of them were capable to scrub independently for general surgical procedures under supervision, after the training period of 2 to 3 months. The first group of 9 new join nurses completed the PACU module in early Dec 2020. All of them met the requirement of passing the assessment in providing appropriate post-anesthetic care to patients, and handled 20-30 cases by themselves under the supervision of facilitators. The arrangement of rotation to PACUs at all floors, widened the scope of knowledge and skills to be attained, in relation to different post-operative needs and care for patients of various specialties. To conclude, the revised induction program has been implemented for around 3 months. It maximized the learning opportunities and learning outcomes of all new join nurses, by an organized training plan, with all of them being divided into small groups, specific training sites allocated, target group of trainees assigned, training roles specified and period of time indicated, Its effectiveness implied that, this model of training plan can be referenced for accommodating great training demand with limited training capacity.
