@article{ref1,
title="Mild traumatic brain injury: A survey of perceived knowledge and learning preferences of military and civilian nurses",
journal="Journal of neuroscience nursing",
year="2011",
author="Watts, Dorraine Day and Gibbons, Susanne W. and Kurzweil, Dina",
volume="43",
number="3",
pages="122-129",
abstract="Early case recognition and intervention by nurses for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can significantly improve outcomes for civilian and military patients. The &quot;Concussion/mTBI Learning Needs Assessment for Registered Nurses Survey&quot; was developed to evaluate bedside nurses' knowledge related to the assessment and care of patients with mTBI as well as their preferences for learning in order to develop a targeted curriculum. An anonymous, self-administered, Web-based survey was available from February to August 2009. A series of invitational e-mails were sent to nurses at a convenience sample of civilian, federal, and military institutions. A total of 1,224 nurses meeting the inclusion criteria of being bedside care providers and nonadvanced practice responded and were included in the analysis (civilian, n = 731; military, n = 494). Most respondents (91.3%) considered knowledge of mTBI to be important or very important to their practice, and 44.5% saw mTBI patients at least monthly. Despite this perception of importance and exposure to the patients, nurses' self-reported knowledge levels were very low. Overall, 39.8% expressed a high knowledge level (score of 4 [a lot] or 5 [expert] on a 1-5 scale) of the causes of mTBI. Fewer than 25% expressed high knowledge level in the skills needed for the identification and assessment of mTBI patients, and less than 15% had high knowledge in the treatment and prognosis of these patients. The nurses' preferred learning method was shadowing another provider (37%), but the most often used method was Internet searches (80.3%). There was minimal difference between military and civilian nurses. Although nurses recognize the importance of familiarity with mTBI for their practice and most clearly self-identify knowledge deficits in all aspects of care of the mTBI patients, a broad but succinct curriculum for the nonadvanced practice bedside nurse could provide a cost-effective, quickly accessible way to provide the needed education.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0888-0395",
doi="10.1097/JNN.0b013e3182135af6",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JNN.0b013e3182135af6"
}