Acute surgical wound‐dressing procedure: Description of the steps involved in the development and validation of an observational metric

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop an observational metric that could be used to assess the performance of a practitioner in completing an acute surgical wound‐dressing procedure using aseptic non‐touch technique (ANTT). A team of clinicians, academics, and researchers came together to develop an observational metric using an iterative six‐stage process, culminating in a Delphi panel meeting. A scoping review of the literature provided a background empirical perspective relating to wound‐dressing procedure performance. Video recordings of acute surgical wound‐dressing procedures performed by nurses in clinical (n = 11) and simulated (n = 3) settings were viewed repeatedly and were iteratively deconstructed by the metric development group. This facilitated the identification of the discrete component steps, potential errors, and sentinel (serious) errors, which characterise a wound dressing procedure and formed part of the observational metric. The ANTT wound‐dressing observational metric was stress tested for clarity, the ability to be scored, and interrater reliability, calculated during a further phase of video analysis. The metric was then subjected to a process of cyclical evaluation by a Delphi panel (n = 21) to obtain face and content validity of the metric. The Delphi panel deliberation verified the face and content validity of the metric. The final metric has three phases, 31 individual steps, 18 errors, and 27 sentinel errors. The metric is a tool that identifies the standard to be attained in the performance of acute surgical wound dressings. It can be used as both an adjunct to an educational programme and as a tool to assess a practitioner's performance of a wound‐dressing procedure in both simulated and clinical practice contexts.

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Effect of the Training Program on Nurses' Performance Regarding Surgical Wounds Management

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Assessment of Nurses knowledge toward Postoperative Wound Care at Al-Diwaniya Teaching Hospital

“…Clinical Nurses play an important role in the restricted of wound infection and the progressive of healing through the dressing. Surgical site infection can arise from day one, but usually occurs between the fifthand tenth-days after surgery, due to inadequate technique for intervention with surgical wound (4) . The objective of the study was to discover the level of education about postoperative wound care among staff and to manifested the relationship between demographic of the nurses and their Knowledge with respect to wound care.…”