Promotion of knowledge, skill, and performance of emergency medical technicians in prehospital care of traumatic patients: An action-research study

Background: Annually, there is a high rate of mortality due to trauma. Prehospital emergency personnel are the first caregivers present beside trauma patients, and their dexterity to take care of trauma patients is of great significance in the vast majority of patients' survival. Materials and Methods: This study was action research with the participation of 125 prehospital emergency personnel from May 2016 to December 2018 in five stages (observation, reflection, planning, action, and evaluation) in Iran. Knowledge, skills, and performance of personnel were assessed before and after the action. Data collection tools included knowledge questionnaire and PERFECT skill assessment checklist by Objective Structured Clinical Examination method and researcher-made checklist for performance. Data were analyzed using SPSS-21 software. Results: The findings indicated that 67.82 and 84.4 of prehospital emergency staff have median to low knowledge and expertise in respect to trauma care, respectively. Their performance of necessary measurements for trauma patients was poor prior to training. There was a significant difference between the mean knowledge, skills, and performance of medical emergency technicians before and after the training course (P = 0.00). Conclusions: Participation of beneficiaries in planning for trauma patient's care is helpful. Establishment of prehospital trauma life support training in the medical emergency, training curriculum, and its instruction to prehospital emergency personnel while serving in trauma care will be of great benefit

A Comparative Study of Emergency Nursing MSc Curriculum in Iran and the USA

Introduction: Conducting comparative studies is one of the research methods for revising and modernizing educational programs. The aim of this study was to compare the emergency nursing MSc curriculum in Iran and the USA. Methods: This descriptive-comparative study was conducted in 2018 at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Vanderbilt University was selected through internet searches due to the relative similarity between the fields of study offered by the given universities and then two curricula were compared using Bereday’s four-stage model: description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison. Results: The program offered by both universities had certain mission, vision and goals. The goal of Vanderbilt University was to train professional clinical nurses while the goal of Iran's program was to provide the graduates with the proficiency in the clinical, educational, research and managerial fields. The admission requirements in both universities included holding a bachelor`s degree in nursing and having at least two years of clinical nursing experience. In Iran, the graduate students in Emergency Medicine can also take the examination. Some of the requirements for the admission to Vanderbilt University were a confirmation letter of clinical competence, a confirmation letter of at least three faculty members and a good GPA and students can study at a university whether full-time or part-time. Conclusion: The Emergency Nursing MSc curriculum in Iran was designed as a general program, whereas Vanderbilt University curriculum was more specialized and operational with an emphasis on clinical practice. Differences in course credits offered by Emergency Medicine and Nursing bachelor's programs and their different fields of service make it necessary to revise the relevant curricula or develop separate educational paths for these two fields

Effect of NICU Department Orientation Program on Mother’s Anxiety: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Neonatal intensive care unit induces the high level of anxiety for mothers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of NICU orientation program on the anxiety of mothers who had preterm newborns hospitalized in NICU. Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial (three parallel groups). Participants included 99 mothers with preterm newborns hospitalized in NICU of Al- Zahra hospital, affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Mothers were randomly assigned to one of three groups (film, booklet, and control). Mothers completed the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory before entering to the NICU, and then mothers in the experiment groups became familiar with the NICU environment through watching a film or reading booklet. After the first NICU visit, all mothers completed the STAI and Cattell's Anxiety Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 13 software. Results: There was no significant difference between three groups regarding state- trait anxiety before the intervention. After the first NICU visit, a significant reduction in maternal state anxiety was seen in the both experiment groups. There was no statistical significant difference regarding trait anxiety. Data obtained from Cattell's anxiety questionnaire after intervention, showed significant difference in state anxiety between groups. Conclusion: Employing film and booklet orientation strategy after preterm delivery can reduce the mother’s anxiety and beneficent for the mother, baby, family and health care system