Abstract TP71: Creative Methods Utilized to Improve Stroke Education at an Academic Medical Center

Abstract

Background: Stroke patients admitted to a hospital can be cared for in several different settings requiring hospital clinical staff to have a strong knowledge base of signs and symptoms of a stroke as well as the care and management of patients after a stroke. Stroke patients may present with other co-morbidities which may take precedence over their stroke diagnosis causing them to be admitted to non-stroke units. In addition, patients may also have an acute stroke during their hospitalization for a non-related admission. Therefore, hospital systems must continue to expose all staff to education regarding stroke recognition, care and management. Purpose: To increase the knowledge of stroke recognition, prevention, care, and treatment options of clinical staff at one academic medical center. Methods: Members of the stroke clinical team and unit nurse specialists provide educational opportunities through a mobile education program which brings interactive games to the unit staff to test and reinforce their stroke knowledge. They provide brain themed prizes and provide direct staff feedback on stroke codes that occurred on the unit. This team also provides in-person educational in-services to units where gaps in our data metrics have occurred. They are a resource that all clinical staff can reach out to for additional education on stroke management. Results: Feedback from the clinical staff after receiving education either from interactive games, in-services or direct feedback has been positive. We have seen increased confidence with our inpatient units nursing staff in activating the stroke code immediately as soon as signs and symptoms of stroke are observed. They also have a stronger understanding of the importance of meeting our time targets to improve patient outcomes. Conclusions: Making learning fun and rewarding staff for their understanding and impact on patient care creates an incentive to continue to learn more about stroke care, management, and improves their recognition of stroke among all patients. We continue to develop creative and alternative methods to provide education to the clinical staff throughout the health care system.