Effectiveness of Education in Improving the Performance of Medical Emergency Team Nurses

Abstract

BackgroundNumerous national safety organizations have recommended the use of a Medical Emergency Team (MET) system to improve hospital safety. However, there is little evidence regarding the effectiveness of the educational approaches used to train METs. ObjectiveTo evaluate how effective educational interventions are at improving the performances of MET nurses. MethodsA systematic literature review was conducted in five multi-disciplinary databases. The studies were selected and independently assessed by two researches. The analysis followed the principals of narrative synthesis. ResultsA lack of suitable studies meant that only two studies were analyzed. Nevertheless, they confirmed that simulation team training is an effective method and preferred among METs. The assumption of specific roles during training improved the task completion rate. ConclusionsThe effectiveness of MET educational interventions remains unclear due to a lack of published studies. Future studies on MET educational interventions should clarify and evaluate the roles of MET nurses and how they perform during emergency situations.