TY - JOUR
T1 - Voices from the floor
T2 - Nurses' perceptions of the medical emergency team
AU - Salamonson, Yenna
AU - Heere, Brigitte van
AU - Everett, Bronwyn
AU - Davidson, Patricia
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/6
Y1 - 2006/6
N2 - Nurses are the main group of clinicians who activate the medical emergency team (MET), placing them in an excellent position to provide valuable insights regarding the effectiveness of this system. This descriptive study aimed to explore nurses' satisfaction with the MET, perceived benefits and suggestions for improvement. The study also sought to examine the characteristics of nurses who were more likely to activate the MET. Using a survey design, descriptive statistics as well as content analysis were used to analyse the data. Seventy-three nurses (79% response rate) returned their completed surveys. A positive and significant relationship was found between years of nursing experience and MET activation (p = 0.018). Overall, nurses were satisfied with the MET, with suggestions for improvement including more education on medical emergencies for both ward and MET staff. Whilst the MET system is meeting the expectations of the majority of ward nurses, there is room for improvement, which includes a more positive attitude of the MET when summoned for 'borderline' cases. Investment in ongoing education of clinicians and interdisciplinary communication is likely to encourage less experienced nurses to utilise this system, whilst decreasing the reticence of some nurses to call the MET.
AB - Nurses are the main group of clinicians who activate the medical emergency team (MET), placing them in an excellent position to provide valuable insights regarding the effectiveness of this system. This descriptive study aimed to explore nurses' satisfaction with the MET, perceived benefits and suggestions for improvement. The study also sought to examine the characteristics of nurses who were more likely to activate the MET. Using a survey design, descriptive statistics as well as content analysis were used to analyse the data. Seventy-three nurses (79% response rate) returned their completed surveys. A positive and significant relationship was found between years of nursing experience and MET activation (p = 0.018). Overall, nurses were satisfied with the MET, with suggestions for improvement including more education on medical emergencies for both ward and MET staff. Whilst the MET system is meeting the expectations of the majority of ward nurses, there is room for improvement, which includes a more positive attitude of the MET when summoned for 'borderline' cases. Investment in ongoing education of clinicians and interdisciplinary communication is likely to encourage less experienced nurses to utilise this system, whilst decreasing the reticence of some nurses to call the MET.
KW - Emergency medical services
KW - Nurses' attitudes
KW - Nurses' satisfaction
KW - Resuscitation
KW - Survey
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U2 - 10.1016/j.iccn.2005.10.002
DO - 10.1016/j.iccn.2005.10.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 16325408
AN - SCOPUS:33646704783
SN - 0964-3397
VL - 22
SP - 138
EP - 143
JO - Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
JF - Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
IS - 3
ER -