Abstract
Problem: Clinical alarms are nearly constant in a busy hospital unit. The vast majority of alarms are either false or do not require intervention, termed nuisance alarms. The constant stimulation to caregivers by these clinical alarms can overwhelm and desensitize them leading to alarm fatigue. Alarm fatigue has been recognized as a major patient safety issue by Joint Commission.|Methods: This scholarly project explored nurses' perception of alarm fatigue in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and evaluated the impact of education on nurses' perceptions using descriptive, exploratory design. Education focused on the correct use of monitoring equipment according to manufacturer recommendations to eliminate nuisance alarms.|Results: Of the 29 nurses surveyed prior to the education, 79% felt that nuisance alarms were frequent in the NICU. Nuisance alarms were also cited as a point of parent dissatisfaction. Seventy-six percent of respondents claimed that they had seen other nurses ignore alarms but only 66% claimed that they felt they had ignored alarms. Nurses cited alarms being "not real" and knowledge of a baby's alarm history as some of the main reasons for delaying or not responding to alarms.|Conclusions: Alarm fatigue is prevalent in most NICUs. Most nurses acknowledged that they observed non-response to alarms, but less nurses responded that they had been non-responsive to actual alarms. The education of the nursing staff should result in fewer nuisance alarms due to the correct use of the monitoring equipment. Nurses need to be more responsive to actual alarms that require intervention and have less alarm fatigue after the education process is completed.