Aim and objectives

To develop an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) training program for intensive care unit (ICU) nurses and assessing the impact of the training on the knowledge and self-efficacy outcomes of the ICU nurses.

Background

The number of patients receiving ECMO support is increasing in Turkiye. However, ICU nurses providing care to ECMO patients lack of structured ECMO training programs.

Design

A quasi-experimental study including a single group pretest and posttest.

Methods

The study was conducted with 50 ICU nurses working in a public hospital in Ankara, Türkiye. ECMO training program was developed based on the ADDIE (A = Analyze, D = Design, D = Develop, I = Implement, E = Evaluation) model. Data were collected through with a “Knowledge Test’, ‘Self-Efficacy Perception Scale Regarding the Effectiveness of ICU Nurses in the Care of Patients with ECMO (ECMO- SEPS), ‘Simulation checklist’ and ‘Evaluation form for the effectiveness of the training programme’.

Results

In the pretest measurement of the nurses, the mean total score of the knowledge test was 12.0 ± 3.60, while it increased to 21.4 ± 3.57 after the training. In a retest one month after the training, the mean was found to be 20.2 ± 4.92 (p < 0.05). The effect size in the knowledge test (d = 2.62) confirms that the educational content was successful in transferring knowledge. It was found that the posttest and retest sub-dimension scores of the ECMO- SEPS increased in all three sub-dimensions compared to the pretest scores, and this increase was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The training significantly increased nurses’ self-efficacy (η²=0.702) at a statistically significant and practically important level. The strongest effect was in the cognitive domain (η²=0.736). In the psychomotor domain (η²=0.592), it significantly improved application skills. Affective (η²=0.576): Education had a significant impact on motivation and self-confidence. After the training, an average of 15.0 ± 4.04 of the 22 items in the simulation checklist were fully implemented by the nurses.

Conclusion

In this study η² values and statistical significance (p < 0.001) prove that ECMO training program is clinically effective and sustainable for ICU nurses knowledge and self-efficacy. The lack of a control group in the study and the fact that all participants were from a single hospital limits the generalisability of the findings. Therefore, it is recommended that future studies implement the ECMO training programme nationwide and be randomised controlled trials.