Enhancement program on noninvasive ventilation care for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure

Introduction Over the last decade, non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has become the standard of care in treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. To meet the growing demand of COPD patients, a NIV service for COPD patients has been launched in five pilot hospitals in September 2013. As nurses play an important role in the success of NIV treatment, a training program was organized by the respiratory division of the United Christian Hospital during July to August 2013 to enhance nurses' competency in NIV care. Objectives To enhance nurses' competency in NIV care for COPD patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. Methodology The enhancement program was run by qualified respiratory nurses which consisted of 4 identical sessions related to NIV care. The duration was 2.5 hours per each session. Target attendants were nurses who had experience in caring patients on NIV treatment. A pre & post test consisted of 15 multiple choice questions (MCQ) will be completed by each attendant before and after the training session. Results Four training sessions were organized during July to August 2013. A total of 49 nurses who were working in medical wards of local hospitals have attended the lectures. From the evaluation of the pre & post 15 MCQ test, the pre test mean score was 9.65 and post test was 11.67. We use paired-samples T-test to compare the mean scores and the p-value was <0.001. Conclusion Competent nurses contribute a major role in the success of NIV service. The result shows that our training program could help nurses to enhance their knowledge and skills in NIV care.