A pilot study to assess an online training module to quickly identify drugs on resuscitation trays

Abstract

Objective To measure the median time required for healthcare professionals to identify drugs on resuscitation trays and to assess the usefulness of an online training module used to identify drugs on resuscitation trays. Study design This is a descriptive pilot study conducted in a mother-child university hospital center with a convenience sample of physicians, residents, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy students or pharmacy technicians (10/group). Method Participants were given a questionnaire before and after using a simulation module to identify drugs on resuscitation drug trays (30 questions on the full trays with 43 drugs and 15 questions on the partial trays with 21 drugs). The identification times were measured for each drug and for each tray. Results The median time to identify the drugs varied from 4 s (range 2–46) for dextrose to 18 s (range 4–78) for epinephrine. The median times to locate a drug on full and partial trays were, respectively: pharmacists 7 (2–103) and 6 (1–31), physicians 10 (3–78) and 7 (2–61) and nurses 10 (3–83) and 7 (2–53). All 60 participants strongly agreed that the online simulation module was a good tool for healthcare staff and that it would allow them to locate drugs more quickly in emergency situations. Conclusion The online simulation module can be used by various groups of professionals and it can allow them to locate drugs on resuscitation tray more rapidly during an emergency.