Effectiveness of a Structured Teaching Program on Practice of Endotracheal Tube Suctioning Among Staff Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units of SKIMS Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Introduction: The practice of endotracheal suctioning by staff nurses is a crucial aspect of caring for patients who are intubated and require mechanical ventilation. Proper endotracheal suctioning helps maintain airway patency and oxygenation, reduces the risk of infection, and promotes overall respiratory health in critically ill patients. It is’s essential that nurses follow established protocols and guidelines, maintain infection control measures, and prioritise patient safety and comfort during endotracheal suctioning procedures. The study aimed to evaluate the practice of endotracheal tube suctioning among staff nurses before and after training, as well as investigate potential correlations between pre-test practice scores and various demographic factors such as age, gender, professional qualifications, place of assignment, years of work experience, and attendance of in-service educational or training programs related to endotracheal tube suctioning. Methodology: This study employed pre- experimental one- group pre-test– post-test design to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching program on practice of 50 staff nurses regarding endotracheal tube suctioning working in intensive care unitsICUs of SKIMS Soura through purposive sampling technique. A self- structured checklist was developed and was validated by the experts of the field. Results: The mean post-test practice score of the study subjects (49.94 ± 5.453) was significantly higher than that of the mean pre-test practice score (35.39 ±9.07) at 0.05 level of significance. At the 0.05 significance level, no statistically significant connections were found between the pre-test practice scores of the study participants and demographic factors such as age (p = 0.962), gender (p = 0.448), professional qualifications (p = 0.857), place of assignment (p = 0.482), years of work experience (p = 0.832), or attendance at in-service educational/training programs related to endotracheal tube suctioning (p = 0.738). Conclusion: The staff nurses had average practice regarding endotracheal tube suctioning. The structured teaching program proved to be successful in enhancing the practice scores of the study participants, underscoring the importance of educating them on endotracheal tube suctioning.