Scientific knowledge of recovery personnel on early postoperative complications in PACUs

Abstract

Introduction: Continuing education is a good way to develop staffs' knowledge. This study tried to declare educational needs of staffs of post-operating room.

Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive analytic study carried out on recovery personnel working in Isfahan university hospitals. Researchers collected the data through questionnaires including questions investigating all domains of personnel's knowledge on patients' postoperative care and complications. The sampling was done by census sampling selecting 63 subjects of whom 3 were left out of study (total number of samples=60). The data were analyzed by SPSS software.

Results: Findings showed that the mean knowledge score of early respiratory complications was 63.6 (SD=12.4). Also, the mean knowledge score of early circulatory complications was 57.8 (SD=24.2). The mean knowledge score of early neuropsychiatry complications was 64.7 (SD=18.8) and the mean knowledge score of early anesthesia complications was 63.9 (SD=23.2). There was a significant difference between the score of knowledge related to early circulation disorders (the lowest mean score) and the one related to early anesthesia disorders (the highest mean score).

Conclusion: The findings showed that the knowledge scores of recovery personnel were not in a good level. Continuing educational programs are recommended to be carried out based on the staffs' educational needs