Abstract
Background: Baptist Health System (BHS) leadership is invested in “education and training activities that are relevant to the program’s scope of service” as required by Primary Stroke Center Certification. BHS is a five hospital system which reports as one program in five locations. There are 20 stroke-specific nursing departments, with over 700 practitioners and 1,500 stroke admissions annually. This complex system presents unique challenges when developing an education plan to meet Stroke Certification requirements. Purpose: The purpose is to describe a stroke education plan which offers a variety of learning modalities reflecting the complexity of stroke care while meeting the learning needs of nurses in diverse clinical areas. Methods: The BHS Stroke Education Council was developed as a subcommittee of the Regional Stroke Committee and includes representation from all the clinical departments. The education plan was developed based on identified knowledge deficits, leadership feedback and performance outcomes. The education content addresses scope of service, stroke pathophysiology, assessment, diagnostics, treatments, policies and protocols. The content is presented in a variety of learning modalities including self -paced learning, interactive classes with NIHSS skills check off, stroke hymnal, and in-services. As a result of staff evaluations the education plan was restructured to meet the learning needs of the participants. The Stroke Education Council meets monthly and the plan is revised annually to address educational opportunities. Results: The success of this plan is reflected by a 92% practitioner completion rate. In addition, there was a 10% increase in compliance of all required stroke performance measures over a three month period following implementation of the stroke education plan. Conclusion: In conclusion, the results are due to the support of BHS leadership who recognize that staff education drives superior care as reflected in quality data indicators and the overall success of the stroke program. The skills and knowledge of the nursing staff is recognized through the achievement of the AHA/ASA Gold Plus and Target Stroke Honor Roll hospital awards in August 2012 and in August 2013.
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