A SURVEY OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF NURSES: COORDINATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CRITICAL CARE NURSING

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the knowledge and practices of nurses’ coordination in critical care nursing. A web-based survey was conducted with nurses working in intensive care units. The study included personal attributes, the work environment, and the perception and care of coordination. The results showed shortfalls in the knowledge of and practices in the following: coordination among health care providers; coordination of time in dealing with patients and family care; and coordination of the environment of places and spaces. When the perceptions and practice of coordination were compared between certified nurse specialists/certified nurses and nurses, there was a significant difference in one item of recognition (coordination to deal with patients and families in the critical care) and five items of practice (coordination to facilitate smooth progression of treatment, coordination to deal with patients and families in the critical care, carrying into the end of life, and coordination to create a special environment from the end of life to the end of life) with significant differences in the five items. In the free text, the following difficulties were extracted: 1) challenges and collaboration for discharge coordination starting from the critical care and 2) difficulties in coordination arising from human factors. Nurses were aware of what should be coordinated in critical care nursing but had difficulty with implementation.