Date of Completion
Summer 7-28-2024
Document Type
Open Access Capstone
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Faculty Advisor
Joanne Roman Jones JD, PhD, RN
Site Advisor
Zoe Singer Fishman, MD, FAAP
Second Reader
Eileen Stuart Shore PhD, ANP-BC, FAHA, FAAN
Abstract
Background. Pediatric primary care offices are frequently unprepared to respond to clinical emergencies that may present to or occur at their site. The purpose of this project was to improve office emergency preparedness at a pediatric primary care office to align with the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement for pediatric office emergency preparedness.
Methods. A PRISMA-guided literature review found support for both educational interventions and in-situ simulation to improve aspects of emergency preparedness. The aim of this project was to develop a practice-specific emergency preparedness policy and procedure and implement a training and in-situ simulation to increase medical and non-medical staff knowledge and comfort in managing emergencies. The availability of equipment and policy components were measured pre- and post-intervention. Other measures included rates of completion of CPR certification, office-based video training, and rates of attendance at an in-situ simulation. A post-intervention survey evaluated staff perception of impacts of the training and simulation.
Intervention. The intervention in this project was multi-step and included the development and implementation of a novel office-specific policy, the development and dissemination of an asynchronous video training on office emergency response, and the implementation of an in-situ simulation, which was followed by a debriefing and post-implementation survey.
Results. An office-specific policy and procedure was created and implemented. At the close of the project, 94% of necessary emergency equipment was obtained and strategically stocked; 88% of staff were CPR certified and completed the asynchronous video training; 65% of staff attended the in-situ simulation and participated in the post-implementation survey. The availability of emergency items increased by 55%. The post-implementation survey yielded affirmative responses signaling improvement in all areas considered.
Conclusion. This project describes a multi-step intervention that resulted in improvement in office emergency preparedness and increased staff knowledge, skills, and comfort in responding to an in-office emergency. This project offers a framework for a feasible, sustainable, and cost-effective quality improvement intervention that could be utilized by pediatric primary care offices to improve office emergency preparedness in alignment with the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement.
Recommended Citation
Patel, Kaitlin, "Development and Implementation of an Emergency Preparedness Policy and Procedure, Educational Intervention, and In-situ Simulation in a Pediatric Primary Care Office: A Quality Improvement Project" (2024). Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects. 39.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/nursing_dnp_capstone/39