Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to identify when retention of knowledge declines in pediatric cardiac care nurses following a simulation augmented educational activity that focused on Electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm identification.|Participants: Seven pediatric cardiac care nurses at a Midwest urban pediatric hospital participated in a mandatory mock code exercise that focused on identifying rhythms seen on ECGs in the pediatric population.|Design: Participants participated in a simulated scenario that that focused on rhythm identification and applying interventions that follow Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) guidelines. After the simulation was complete, all participants received a debriefing of the scenario, followed by focused education on rhythm interpretation and analysis. The nurses completed a post-assessment at the conclusion of the mock code, again at two-week and eight-week intervals following the mock code. The standardized assessment consisted of multiple choice and fill in the blank questions related to the identification of five cardiac rhythms and application of appropriate interventions associated with the previously identified rhythms.|Results: Scores obtained at the two-week interval revealed that the average scores of participating nurses were able to achieve minimum competency and retain knowledge in identifying arrhythmias seen on ECGs. The eight-week post-assessment scores showed that 71% of participating nurses scored lower at eight weeks than previously at two weeks.|Implications for Practice: The results of this project identified that the decline in post-assessment scores suggest that continuing education is necessary to maintain minimum competency and retention of knowledge for all nurses within the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU). The timing for this education is recommended based on the participating nurse’s post-assessment scores which would occur between two-weeks and eight-weeks following education and simulation.|Keywords: simulation-based learning, simulation, nurse knowledge, nurse competency, nurse retention, decline in knowledge, cardiac rhythm interpretation, cardiac rhythm strip, rhythm identification, electrocardiogram, ECG, pediatric cardiac, pediatric.