Data shows sudden cardiac arrest is still one of the leading causes of death in Europe and the United States (Berdowski et al., 2010). Healthcare professionals must provide immediate and proper resuscitation, which directly impacts the patient likelihood of survival. Mock code drills play a pivotal role in healthcare education and training, by enhancing the participants' confidence levels. This increased confidence, in turn, contributes to improved clinical performance and patient outcomes. Within the hospital setting, resources and personnel are readily available in the event of a medical emergency, however in the outpatient setting the stakes may be higher due to lessened resources and manpower (Urman, Punwani and Shapiro, 2012). To date, there is very little research surrounding medical emergencies in the outpatient settings, this highlights the need for further investigation as cardiac arrest is a high risk low volume emergency that many healthcare professionals feel unprepared and ill equipped for (Monachino et al., 2019). This Quality Improvement (QI) project explored the impact of mock code blue drills on healthcare professional’s confidence levels in the outpatient setting. Over three months, monthly code blue drills were conducted in two separate outpatient locations. Staff involved in this QI completed a pre and post drill survey consisting of nine statement with five-point Likert scaling assessing their confidence levels. Results in this QI showed an overall improvement in the confidence of clinical staff after taking part in mock code blue drills. There were limitations to this QI including a low response rate, small sample size, as well as external factors such as a faulty public announcement system impacting the drills. Future recommendations include increased frequency of drills, qualitative research to explore staff’s perceptions and high-quality simulation equipment. Code blue drills should be completed every three months to safeguard patient safety and promote staff responsiveness in a true cardiac arrest event.
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