A Cross-Sectional Survey Study of Nurses' Self-Assessed Competencies in Obstetric and Surgical Postanesthesia Care Units

The purpose of this study was to identify priorities to guide development of an obstetric PACU continuing education curriculum. A cross-sectional, survey design was used. A total of 54 obstetric nurses and 68 perianesthesia Phase I nurses at an academic, tertiary care center completed online surveys for self-assessment of recent education, competency, and encounters with 14 topics related to postanesthesia nursing (eg, basic life support [BLS], advanced cardiac life support [ACLS], neonatal resuscitation, and the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses' standards). Obstetric nurses reported low encounters, competency, and recent training in all study topics except oxygen administration, phlebotomy, BLS, and neonatal resuscitation. Perianesthesia Phase I nurses indicated high encounters, competency, and recent training for all topics except for ACLS and malignant hyperthermia. All nurses indicated the need for arranging debriefing sessions after life-threatening situations. Results suggest that obstetric-postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nursing should focus on continuing education curriculum development, whereas main surgical-PACU emphasis should be on skills assessment. Future research should be directed to knowledge- (didactics) and skills- (simulation) educational programs, including maintenance and assessment of skills unique to obstetric-PACU care.