Italian Journal of Prevention, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Medicine

Abstract

Background: The Emergency Room is a highly stressful environment because one must work with patients that are often in critical condition and in a life threatening situation. This environment can influence the medical staff in a negative way, affecting the ability to provide the right care and treatment. Recent studies have proven that, in this environment, a debriefing could bring changes in both the staff behavior and the outcome of the patient, through the analysis of the clinical situation. Goal: To analyze the opinions of nurses who are working in the Emergency Room regarding the use of debriefing after experiencing this environment. Type of Study: Descriptive Study. Methods: This study involves all the nurses working in the Emergency Room at the Ospedale dell’Angelo. From July to August 2016, data was collected through a semi-structured 9 to 10 question interview. This interview had questions that focused on the nurse’s level of knowledge, methods, and experience with regards to debriefing. Results: Results show that 83% of the staff has knowledge of debriefing. All the nurses agreed on the positive impact of this tool, which helps in analyzing the clinical cases, reviewing how they have been handled, highlighting the correct procedures and revealing areas for improvement. Finally, all of the nurses would like the debriefing practice to be introduced in the clinical daily life. Discussion: Although debriefing is recognized to be a powerful tool in literature that brings new knowledge and behavior in future clinical practice, research suggests that the tool is rarely utilized in practice currently. Also, findings show that there is a lack of experts in this field that can implement a debriefing in the correct way. Conclusions: Further studies would be necessary in order to define guidelines implementing a debriefing in this environment.