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The use of medical equipment by Australian registered nurses
Author(s) -
McCONNELL EDWINA A.,
NISSEN JUTTA H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.1993.tb00191.x
Subject(s) - medical equipment , nursing , quality (philosophy) , medical emergency , patient care , medicine , psychology , epistemology , philosophy
Summary• Registered nurses in Australia are the primary users of medical equipment in the direct care of patients. The cross‐sectional survey reported in this paper explores how and what registered nurses working in a large hospital in a South Australian city initially learn about the medical equipment they use in direct patient care, as well as the consequences of equipment use for both patients and staff. • Equipment use had positive and negative aspects both for registered nurses and patients, the central issue of which was quality patient care. Inherent in this issue was knowledgeable and proficient device use, which, it is argued, hinges on equipment education. • The two most frequently identified methods of initial learning were reading the user/instruction manual and consulting the policy and procedure manual. At least 90% of respondents indicated they initially learned how to operate equipment and its purpose and function. • Medical equipment use caused nearly half the nurses to feel stressed, but only 9.4% had used medical equipment that had harmed a patient.