Neuromuscular Blocking Agents and Therapeutic Hypothermia Post Cardiac Arrest in the Intensive Care Unit: Knowledge to Practice

Neuromuscular Blocking Agents and Therapeutic Hypothermia Post Cardiac Arrest in the Intensive Care Unit: Knowledge to Practice

Therapeutic hypothermia is an effective in-hospital treatment modality post ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, but there is a need for advanced nursing knowledge and skills to implement the treatment safely. This paper discusses one specially designed education module that was developed and implemented at the Rouge Valley Health System Hospital in Ontario, to address this need. The Knowledge-To-Action framework was used to guide the development of the module. Twelve critical care registered nurses participated in the module and findings from the project showed that the teaching learning approach of a self-paced learning package, lectures, discussions, and return demonstrations had a positive impact on nurses’ knowledge and confidence in caring for these patients. Busy ICU nurses need flexibility in the delivery of education in the clinical setting, and this project showed that a flexible approach can help to prepare nurses to care for patients receiving therapeutic hypothermia.