Development and Effectiveness of a Standardized Hand-Off Program Using the SWITCH Tool for OR Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The purpose of this study was to develop a standardized hand-off program based on the SWITCH tool (surgical procedure, wet, instruments, tissue, counts, have you any questions?) and to examine its effectiveness in terms of self-reported perceptions of hand-off satisfaction, self-efficacy, surgical nursing performance, and communication competence among OR staff members. This randomized controlled trial used a nonsynchronized control group with a pretest and posttest design. The nurses in the experimental group received one educational session and used the standardized hand-off tool for four weeks. The control group performed hand offs using the usual method rather than a tool. After the intervention, self-reported hand-off satisfaction (P = .001), self-efficacy (P = .005), and surgical nursing performance (P < .001) scores were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. A standardized hand-off tool can improve nurse perceptions of satisfaction, self-efficacy, and surgical nursing performance.

Investigation of related factors of operating room nurses' attitudes and awareness towards surgery-related pressure injury prevention in Turkey, Croatia, and Italy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine related factors of operating room nurses' attitudes and awareness towards surgery-related pressure injury prevention in Turkey, Croatia, and Italy. METHODS: A descriptive and cross-sectional design was used. The study was conducted between March and September 2023. Data were collected with an online questionnaire created on Google Forms, consisting of a Nurse Information Form, a Surgery-related Pressure Injury Awareness Form, and the Attitude towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument. RESULTS: The sample of the study consisted of 258 operating room nurses working in Turkey, Croatia, and Italy. It was found that the majority of the participants (70.90 %) did not use a risk scale, had not received education on pressure injury prevention and treatment (58.10 %) but wanted to receive it (86 %). Mean attitude scores of operating room nurses by country were at an adequate level in Turkey (42.48 ± 4.30) but not at the desired level in Croatia (37.48 ± 3.44) and Italy (36.20 ± 4.02). While there was a significant positive relationship between the awareness and attitudes of operating room nurses in Turkey (p = 0.002) and Croatia (p < 0.001), no relationship was found between these variables of nurses in Italy (p = 0.109). A statistically significant difference was found between nurses' consideration of themselves sufficient and their attitudes and awareness in all three countries (p < 0.05). It was also determined that reading articles affected nurses' awareness in all countries. CONCLUSIONS: While operating room nurses' attitudes towards preventing pressure injuries were adequate in Turkey, it was determined that those of the nurses in Croatia and Italy were not at the desired level. Nurses should receive regular training on surgical pressure injuries to increase their awareness and to support them in implementing the recommendations of pressure injury guidelines in accordance with institutional policy.

Effect assessment of the application value of evidence-based nursing intervention in operating room nursing: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The advantages of evidence-based nursing (EBN) intervention in health care settings have been widely disseminated to nurses throughout the world. More researches are reporting the effectiveness of EBN intervention in operating room nursing. However, the results are inconsistent. This study focuses on conducting a meta-analysis and systematic evaluation aimed at determining the usefulness of EBN intervention in operating room nursing. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis for Protocols criteria were used to write this paper. We will look for relevant studies from 2 Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang database and also from 3 English databases such as Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE), to locate all relevant randomized controlled trials and observational studies assessing the application value of EBN intervention in operating room nursing from their commencement to June 2021. Separately, 2 authors will choose the studies, do the data extract and conduct the assessment probing into the likelihood of bias. If there is a disagreement, it will be resolved by the third author. RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 15.0 software will be used to conduct the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The usefulness of EBN intervention in operating room nursing will be assessed in this study. CONCLUSION: The purpose of this research is to conclude the value of EBN intervention in operating room nursing and the quality of current data. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Since there is no requirement for data on the individual patient, hence there will be no need for ethical approval. OSF NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/MSXNF.

Surgical counts in open abdominal and pelvic surgeries in a university hospital: a best practice implementation project.

INTRODUCTION: Counting of accountable items used during surgery, frequently called 'the count', is a fundamental practice to ensure that items such as surgical instruments, sponges and sharps are not forgotten within patients. Although inadvertently leaving behind a sponge or instrument at the end of an operation is a rare event, it is an error that may have serious implications. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this evidence implementation project was to contribute to promoting evidence-based practice in surgical counts in open abdominal and pelvic surgeries and thereby improving the outcomes of the surgical patients at a surgical centre of a university hospital. METHODS: The current evidence implementation project used the JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) audit and feedback tool. The JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and GRiP framework for promoting evidence-based healthcare involves three phases of activity: first, establishing a project team and undertaking a baseline audit based on evidence-informed criteria; second, reflecting on the results of the baseline audit and designing and implementing strategies to address non-compliance found in the baseline audit informed by the JBI GRiP framework; third, conducting a follow-up audit to assess the outcomes of the interventions implemented to improve practice, and identify future practice issues to be addressed in subsequent audits. These three phases were performed over a period of 6 months, from August 2017 to March 2018. RESULTS: The baseline audit revealed deficits between old and best practice in all criteria. Barriers for implementation of a protocol for surgical counts were identified, and strategies were implemented. The postimplementation (follow-up) audit showed improvement in compliance with best practice in six of the audit criteria selected except two, a multidisciplinary team approach to decrease retained surgical items, and limited staff hand-offs during surgical procedures to ensure the same team is present in all counting episodes. CONCLUSION: The main achievements of the study included substantial increases in compliance with best practice. However, registration and report and commitment of all members of surgical team to apply the entire protocol, avoiding to skip any step, persist as challenges.

Safe surgery: analysis of physicians' adherence to protocols, and its potential impact on patient safety.

OBJECTIVES: : to identify surgeons' knowledge and compliance rate to the Safe Surgery Protocol, as well as to assess the incidence of surgery-related adverse events, including patients' knowledge about the protocol. METHODS: this is a cross-sectional and prospective study. An instrument was developed to collect the socio-graphic characteristics of sixty-eight surgeons and residents, their knowledge and adherence to the safe surgery protocol. Eighty-two patients were assessed regarding their awareness about the surgical procedure. The operating environment was also evaluated. Descriptive statistics and the odds ratio are presented. RESULTS: the surgeons, despite their previous contact with the protocol throughout the graduation period, were poorly compliant with it. Adverse events such as the use of uncalibrated equipments or the presence of foreign bodies in several equipments such as drills and cautery pens were identified. In addition, some of the adverse events were identified and fixed, after patients had already been anesthesized, but before the beginning of the surgical procedure. Patients demonstrated knowledge about the operation they would undergo, but they did not know about its duration, and they were not introduced to the surgical team. CONCLUSION: there were failures in the dynamics and compliance regarding some phases of the protocol, which may impact the laterality errors and patient safety.

Perception of care quality and ethical sensitivity in surgical nurses.

BACKGROUND: It is stated that high ethical sensitivity positively affects the quality of nursing care. However, the relationship between nursing care quality and ethical sensitivity has not been clearly demonstrated in researches. AIM: This study was carried out to determine the relationship between surgical nurses' care behaviors and their ethical sensitivity. METHOD: The sample of this cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study consists of 308 nurses who worked at the surgical departments in four Turkish hospitals. The data were collected using the "Nurse Description Form" developed by the researcher, "Caring Behaviours Inventory-24" and "Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire." Data were evaluated by the Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis one-way analysis of variance and Spearman correlation analysis. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study was approved by the ethics committee. Verbal and written consent was received from the nurses. RESULTS: It was found in the study that nurses' Caring Behaviours Inventory-24 total score median was 5.25 (4.83-5.58), nurses' perception level of caring quality was high, median of Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire total score was 89.00 (75.00-101.00) and nurses' ethical sensitivity was moderate. A negative significant relation was found between nurses' Caring Behaviours Inventory-24 total score and Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire total score (r = -0.162; p = 0.009). A negative relation was also detected between nurses' working period at the current clinic and providing benefit (r = -0.147; p = 0.012), holistic approach (r = -0.139; p = 0.018) and orientation (r = -0.175; p = 0.003) scores of Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire sub-scales. CONCLUSION: Nurses' perception levels of caring quality were high and their ethical sensitivity levels were moderate. It was found out that nurses' ethical sensitivity increased together with their perception of caring quality, and as their working period at the current clinic increased, the ethical sensitivity also increased in terms of the sub-scales of providing benefit, holistic approach, and orientation. The factors that adversely affect the quality of nursing care and ethical sensitivity should be examined and attempts should be made to improve the working environment.

Lived experiences of international operating room nurses in organ procurement surgery: A phenomenological study.

International operating room nurses come from different regions of the world with diverse social and cultural backgrounds, religions, personal beliefs, and education. They are likely to form unique attitudes toward multi-organ procurement that potentially might affect their opinions and clinical practices. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of international operating room nurses participating in deceased organ procurement procedures in Australia. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 international operating room nurses. van Manen's phenomenological data analysis method was adopted to uncover and interpret meanings from these nurses' descriptions. Four essential themes emerged and evolved to signify the meanings of participants' experiences in organ procurement procedures: the surreality of death, personal and professional challenges, becoming stronger, and personal beliefs and wishes. The present study highlights the importance of cultural awareness in dealing with death, organ procurement, and interprofessional collaboration in the multi-cultural perioperative context. It is essential to provide clinical education and support around culture and practice transition for international operating room nurses to increase and maintain their professional confidence, career satisfaction, health, and well-being during organ procurement surgery.

The Elephant in the Room: Nurses' Views of Communication Failure and Recommendations for Improvement in Perioperative Care.

Perioperative communication failures endanger patient safety and may reduce efficiency. The objective of our phenomenological research study was to determine the reasons for and consequences of perioperative communication failures and to seek recommendations for improvement. Fourteen perioperative nurses participated in this study. We conducted in-depth interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire following Colaizzi's seven-step methodology to extract themes. We organized the themes into categories: causes, consequences, and recommendations for preventing communication failure. Some themes for causes were inadequate time for preoperative preparation, lack of personnel, and disruptive behaviors of physicians. Consequences of communication failure were decreased staff retention, avoidance of colleagues, threats to patient safety, and intra-team violence. Two recommendations included enforcing institutional regulations and creating team spirit. The study revealed that nurses believe that institutional regulations should not only be present but enforced. Further, nurses believe that strengthening employees' interpersonal skills is essential to preventing communication issues.

Relationship Between the Problem-Solving Skills and Empathy Skills of Operating Room Nurses.

BACKGROUND: The use of empathy in problem solving and communication is a focus of nursing practice and is of great significance in raising the quality of patient care. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study are to investigate the relationship between problem solving and empathy among operating room nurses and to explore the factors that relate to these two competencies. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Study data were gathered using a personal information form, the Interpersonal Problem Solving Inventory, and the Basic Empathy Scale (N = 80). Descriptive and comparative statistics were employed to evaluate the study data. RESULTS: Age, marital status, and career length were not found to affect the subscale scores of cognitive empathy (p > .05). A negative correlation was found between the subscale scores for "diffidence" and "cognitive empathy." Moreover, the emotional empathy scores of the graduate nurses were higher than those of the master's/doctorate degree nurses to a degree that approached significance (p = .078). Furthermore, emotional empathy levels were found to decrease as the scores for insistent/persistent approach, lack of self-confidence, and educational level increased (p < .05). The descriptive characteristics of the participating nurses were found not to affect their problem-solving skills. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Problem solving is a focus of nursing practice and of great importance for raising the quality of patient care. Constructive problem-solving skills affect cognitive empathy skills. Educational level and career length were found to relate negatively and level of self-confidence was found to relate positively with level of cognitive empathy. Finally, lower empathy scores were associated with difficult working conditions in operating rooms, intense stress, and high levels of potential stress-driven conflicts between workers in work settings.

Safe surgery: analysis of physicians adherence to protocols, and its potential impact on patient safety / Cirurgia segura: análise da adesão do protocolo por médicos e possível impacto na segurança do paciente

ABSTRACT Objectives : to identify surgeons' knowledge and compliance rate to the Safe Surgery Protocol, as well as to assess the incidence of surgery-related adverse events, including patients' knowledge about the protocol. Methods: this is a cross-sectional and prospective study. An instrument was developed to collect the socio-graphic characteristics of sixty-eight surgeons and residents, their knowledge and adherence to the safe surgery protocol. Eighty-two patients were assessed regarding their awareness about the surgical procedure. The operating environment was also evaluated. Descriptive statistics and the odds ratio are presented. Results: the surgeons, despite their previous contact with the protocol throughout the graduation period, were poorly compliant with it. Adverse events such as the use of uncalibrated equipments or the presence of foreign bodies in several equipments such as drills and cautery pens were identified. In addition, some of the adverse events were identified and fixed, after patients had already been anesthesized, but before the beginning of the surgical procedure. Patients demonstrated knowledge about the operation they would undergo, but they did not know about its duration, and they were not introduced to the surgical team. Conclusion: there were failures in the dynamics and compliance regarding some phases of the protocol, which may impact the laterality errors and patient safety.

RESUMO Objetivo: identificar o conhecimento e a taxa de adesão ao Protocolo de Cirurgia Segura pelos cirurgiões, assim como a incidência de eventos adversos relacionados à operação, além do conhecimento dos pacientes sobre o protocolo. Métodos: estudo transversal, prospectivo com caráter quantitativo. Para a coleta de dados, foi elaborado, pelos autores, um instrumento que coletou o perfil sócio gráfico de sessenta e oito cirurgiões e residentes, o conhecimento e a adesão destes ao protocolo de cirurgia segura. Oitenta e dois pacientes foram entrevistados, e o ambiente de cirurgia avaliado. Os dados foram analisados de maneira descritiva e teste Razão das Chances com Índice de Confiança (IC) de 95%. Resultados: parte dos cirurgiões demonstraram que apesar do contato com o protocolo durante o período de formação, houve deficiência à adesão, ocasionando eventos adversos como o uso de equipamentos não calibrados ou presença de corpos estranhos nos equipamentos, como brocas e canetas. Além disso, foi constatado que em pacientes já anestesiados, as falhas foram percebidas e reparadas antes do começo do procedimento. No caso dos pacientes, estes demonstraram conhecimento quanto à cirurgia que iriam realizar, porém não sabiam a duração da mesma ou tinham sido introduzidos à equipe cirúrgica. Conclusão: houve falhas na dinâmica e na adesão de algumas etapas do protocolo, prejudicando a lateralidade no processo e a segurança do paciente.

Prerequisites for safe intraoperative nursing care and teamwork-Operating theatre nurses' perspectives: A qualitative interview study.

AIM: To describe operating theatre nurses' experience of preconditions for safe intraoperative nursing care and teamwork. BACKGROUND: Surgical interventions are often needed for patients' well-being and survival from health problems. Adequate information to professionals responsible within the surgical organisation is of importance for patient safety in connection to the surgery. The members in the surgical team need correct information about the patients' health and planned care. The information is mainly transferred by computerised systems that do not necessarily provide all information needed. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive design was chosen. Narrative interviews were carried out with 16 experienced operating theatre nurses in four different hospitals in rural and urban areas in Sweden. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The study complied with criteria to Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). RESULT: Operating theatre nurses strived to get adequate information about the patients' care, the surgical intervention and the equipment to be well prepared for intraoperative nursing care. The information from the computerised systems was described as fragmented and obliged the operating theatre nurses to demand a preoperative dialogue between the members of the surgical team. Professional collegial teamwork and committed leadership were considered to enhance patient safety. CONCLUSION: From the operating theatre nurses' perspective, prerequisites for intraoperative safe nursing care and teamwork depend upon a preoperative dialogue between the members in the surgical team for collegial teamwork, obtaining a reliable preoperative overall picture based on adequate information transfer, and the support of a committed first-line manager. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The operating theatre nurses need a reliable preoperative overall picture in advance, to be able to be well prepared for the patients' surgery. The overall picture should be based on adequate data about the patients' health status and needs, details about the surgical intervention and prescriptions.

A pilot study of non-routine events in gynecological surgery: Type, impact, and effect.

OBJECTIVE: Quantifying non-routine events (NREs) assists with identify underlying sociotechnical factors that could lead to adverse events. NREs are considered any event that is unusual or atypical during surgical procedures. This study aimed to use prospective observations to characterize the occurrence of non-routine events in gynecological surgeries. METHODS: Observational data were collected prospectively within one surgical gynecology department over a five month period. Researchers captured NREs in real time using a validated tablet PC-based tool according to the NRE type, impact, whom was affected, and duration. Researchers also noted what surgical approach (i.e. open, laparoscopic, robotic) was used. RESULTS: Across 45 surgical cases, 554 non-routine events (M = 12.31 NREs per case, SD = 9.81) were identified. The majority of non-routine events were external interruptions (40.3%), teamwork (26.7%), or equipment (21.3%). The circulating nurse was most frequently affected by NREs (43.2%) followed by the entire surgical team (13.7%). There was no statistically significant difference in non-routine events based on surgical approach. CONCLUSION: Non-routine events are prevalent in the gynecological surgical setting. Identifying the sociotechnical factors that influence non-routine events are important in determining interventions that will combat the associated risks. Interventions focusing on teamwork, managing external interruptions, and coordinating equipment may have the greatest impact to reduce or eliminate NREs in gynecological surgeries.

Enhancing patient safety in the operating theatre: from the perspective of experienced operating theatre nurses.

THE STUDY'S RATIONALE: Surgical care is an extensive component of modern health care, but patient safety issues and complications of surgery have been identified as a major cause of death and disability. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify, from the perspective of experienced operating theatre nurses (OTNs), how patient safety in the operating theatre (OT) can be enhanced. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS: In this phenomenological study, 14 individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 11 participants: ten women and one man. Work experience as an OTN spanned 10-40 years. Mean experience was 16 years. RESULTS: The enhancement of patient safety in the OT from the perspective of the experienced OTNs is a constant endeavour of managing risks and preventing patient harm it involves respecting the vulnerability of the patient in the OT by being attentive to the patient at each moment, making contact with the patient and recognising how the patient loses all control by being anaesthetised or sedated and is, therefore totally dependent on OT staff. It also involves the OTN navigating the patient as safely as possible through the perioperative process by careful preparation, the use of protocols and checklists and taking measures to prevent complications and harm. Moreover, it involves contributing to a culture of safety by improving work conditions in the OT. Certain competencies of the OTN are essential for the enhancement of patient safety in the OT. These involve both nontechnical and technical competencies. CONCLUSIONS: Constantly managing risk and preventing the OT patient from harm is essential according to the experienced OTNs, who are in a key position to identify threats to patient safety and should be empowered to enhance patient safety as a constant endeavour.

Factors related to teamwork performance and stress of operating room nurses.

AIM: To evaluate operating room nurses' perception of teamwork performance and their level of mental stress and to identify related factors. BACKGROUND: Little is known about the factors affecting teamwork and the mental stress of surgical nurses, although the performance of the surgical team is essential for patient safety. METHODS: The questionnaire survey for operation room nurses consisted of simple questions about teamwork performance and mental stress. Multivariate analyses were used to identify factors causing a sense of teamwork performance or mental stress. RESULTS: A large number of surgical nurses had a sense of teamwork performance, but 30-40% of operation room nurses were mentally stressed during surgery. Neither the patient nor the operation factors were related to the sense of teamwork performance in both types of nurses. Among scrub nurses, endoscopic and abdominal surgery, body mass index, blood loss and the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class were related to their mental stress. Conversely, circulating nurses were stressed about teamwork performance. CONCLUSIONS: The factors related to teamwork performance and mental stress during surgery differed between scrub and circulating nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Increased support for operation room nurses is necessary. The increased support leads to safer surgical procedures and better patient outcomes.

Evolving safety practices in the setting of modern complex operating room: role of nurses.

Operating room (OR) nursing previously referred to patient care provided during the intra-operative phase and the service provided within the OR itself. With the expansion of responsibilities of nurses, OR nursing now includes pre-operative and post-operative periods, therefore peri-operative nursing is accepted as a nursing process in OR in the contemporary medical literature. Peri-operative nurses provide care to the surgical patients during the entire process of surgery. They have several roles including those of manager or a director, clinical practitioner (scrub nurse, circulating nurse and nurse anesthetist), educator as well as researcher. Although, utmost priority is placed on insuring patient safety and well-being, they are also expected to participate in professional organization, continuing medical education programs and participating in research activities. A Surgical Patient Safety Checklist formulated by the World Health Organization serves as a major guideline to all activities in OR, and peri-operative nurses are key personnel in its implementation. Communication among the various players of a procedure in OR is key to successful patient outcome, and peri-operative nurses have a central role in making it happen. Setting up of OR in military conflict zones or places that suffering a widespread natural disaster poses a unique challenge to nursing. This review discusses all aspects of peri-operative nursing and suggests points of improvement in patient care.

Laparoscopic assistance by operating room nurses: Results of a virtual-reality study.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic assistance is often entrusted to a less experienced resident, medical student, or operating room nurse. Data regarding laparoscopic training for operating room nurses are not available. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to analyse the initial performance level and learning curves of operating room nurses in basic laparoscopic surgery compared with medical students and surgical residents to determine their ability to assist with this type of procedure. DESIGN: The study was designed to compare the initial virtual reality performance level and learning curves of user groups to analyse competence in laparoscopic assistance. PARTICIPANTS: The study subjects were operating room nurses, medical students, and first year residents. METHODS: Participants performed three validated tasks (camera navigation, peg transfer, fine dissection) on a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator three times in 3 consecutive days. Laparoscopic experts were enrolled as a control group. Participants filled out questionnaires before and after the course. RESULTS: Nurses and students were comparable in their initial performance (p>0.05). Residents performed better in camera navigation than students and nurses and reached the expert level for this task. Residents, students, and nurses had comparable bimanual skills throughout the study; while, experts performed significantly better in bimanual manoeuvres at all times (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The included user groups had comparable skills for bimanual tasks. Residents with limited experience reached the expert level in camera navigation. With training, nurses, students, and first year residents are equally capable of assisting in basic laparoscopic procedures.

Compliance with the Surgical Safety Checklist Results of an Audit in a Teaching Hospital in Italy.

AIM: We carried out an audit to verify compliance to Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC), as we have become aware that compliance across different teams and by individual surgeons has not been optimal. MATERIAL OF STUDY: 100 SSC records from October-December 2014 and 100 from March-June 2015 were inspected to verify correct . 44 surgeons and 34 scrub nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire to know surgeons' compliance to the different stages of the Checklist and the compliance of each surgical team. 100% of scrub nurse and 73.7% of surgeons completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: All Checklist records were correctly filled out but we could verify that while nurses have a strong commitment to the SSC, the Checklist's implementation is not being actively supported by all surgical team members. DISCUSSION: Many surgeons showed limited awareness of not collaborating during SSC procedure and admitted delegating the responsibility for answering questions to other members of their team. A number of them fell into contradiction answering to various parts of the questionnaire. Consistent with the literature, at our hospital there is a gap between quality of Checklist paper records and correct use of this safety tool. CONCLUSIONS: Thanks to the data we have collected we will improve the way the SSC is used and promote change in the behavior of surgeons. Eighteen surgeons (40.9%) expressed willingness to be involved in a work group to revise the SSC and we hope that their commitment to safety and quality will increase. KEY WORDS: Surgical Safety Checklist, Surgeons commitment.

[The accreditation of professional competence: the analysis of nursinginterventions to control anxiety in surgical patients]. / Accreditamento della competenza professionale:un'analisi degli interventi infermieristici per ridurre l'ansia nel paziente chirurgico.

. The accreditation of professional competence: the analysis of nursing interventions to control anxiety in surgical patients. INTRODUCTION: The preoperative anxiety is a state of discomfort or unpleasant tension resulting from concerns about illness, hospitalization, anesthesia, surgery or the unknown. Nurses play a vital role reducing preoperative anxiety. An accreditation program was developed in Andalusia (Spain) to measure nurses' competences in this and others fields. AIMS: To analyze the accredited nurses' interventions spectrum to reduce anxiety in surgical patients and to check if their range of interventions depends upon their professional skills accreditation level. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. From 20016 to 2014, 1.282 interventions performed by 303 operating room nurses accredited through the Professional Skills Accreditation Program of the Andalusian Agency for Health Care Quality (ACSA) were analyzed with the latent class analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Two-thirds of the sample was accredited in Advanced level, about 31% in Expert level and 2.6% in Excellent level. Mean age of patients was 58.5±19.8 years. Three professional profiles were obtained from the LCA. Those nurses classified in Class I (22.4% of the sample) were more likely to be women, to can for younger patients, and to be accredited in Expert or Excellent Level and to perform the larger range of interventions, becoming therefore the most complete professional profile. CONCLUSION: Those nurses who perform a wider range of interventions and specifically two evidence based interventions such Calming Technique and Coping Enhancement are those who have a higher level of accreditation level.