Assessment of altered conscious level in clinical practice

Palmer, Rachel; Knight, Jessica

doi:10.12968/bjon.2006.15.22.22566

Cited by 29 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The study showed there is no statistically difference between nurses had a training course about GCS and nurses who hadn't. Previous studies showed that interactive training was successful in improving the knowledge ( Palmer & Knight, 2006;Woodward, 2007;Waterhouse, 2009). We don't have any idea about what training these nurses get and what was the content or method of teaching of this training.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment Of Jordanian Nurses' Knowledge To Perform Glasgow Coma Scale

Al-Quraan

AbuRuz

2016

ESJ

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The most important assessment of neurological examination in the clinical setting is assessing level of consciousness. The first neurological tool used to assess patients' level of consciousness was the Glasgow Coma Scale. It is considered as the most common less subjective gold standard coma assessment tool. The purpose of this study was to assess Jordanian nurses' knowledge about Glasgow Coma Scale. A non-experimental, descriptive cross-sectional correlational design was performed in four (3 private hospitals and 1 governmental) hospitals in Amman-Jordan. A self-reported questionnaire was answered by all (ICU, CCU, ER, and Telemetry) nurses who accepted to participate in the study. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed to the participants with 90% response rate ending with 180 questionnaires in the final analysis. More than half of the sample (56.7%) was males. The participants were young nurses with mean age of 26.3±8 years. The total mean score for the whole sample was 7.38 ± 1.96. There was no relationship between experience, level of education, and training course and knowledge level. Nurses working in accredited hospitals and governmental hospitals recorded more level of knowledge than other hospitals. Emergency Room nurses recorded less level of knowledge than other area of practice. In conclusion, knowledge about Glasgow Coma Scale is a global problem. Jordanian nurses, as other nurses, have inadequate knowledge to perform Glasgow Coma Scale assessment. It is vital and necessary to include educational programs about Glasgow Coma Scale for nurses in all areas of practice and in the curricula of nursing colleges.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment Of Jordanian Nurses' Knowledge To Perform Glasgow Coma Scale

Al-Quraan

AbuRuz

2016

ESJ

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“…Prior to the advent of the GCS, there were no standardized scales used to assess conscious level, and various terms were used, describing the state of consciousness . The GCS provides a common language to report neurologic [ sic ] findings by standardizing descriptions of coma severity and depth and improving communication between health‐care professionals . However, the GCS is not without its weaknesses and limitations .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating nurses' knowledge, attitudes and self‐confidence patterns to perform the conscious level assessment: A cluster analysis

Chan

Matter

2013

Int J of Nursing Practice

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By accurately assessing a patient's conscious level, the nurse is able to detect neurological changes in order to improve survival outcomes and minimize long-term sequelae. However, problems are encountered when using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) to assess a patient's conscious level. This study aims to identify the profile of a group of nurse's knowledge, attitudes and self-confidence (KAS) to perform the conscious level assessment using the GCS. A descriptive correlational survey was conducted from January to March 2010 in one acute care hospital in Singapore. A convenience sampling was used, and 114 nursing staff (91.2% response rates) completed a self-reported questionnaire. Four main outcomes: demographic and clinical experiences, and KAS. Two-step cluster analysis yielded two clusters. Cluster A (48.2%) was labelled 'average attitudes, knowledge and self-confidence' group. Cluster B (51.8%) was labelled as 'positive attitudes, good knowledge and high self-confidence' group. Two clusters showed differences in the levels of their KAS. Findings may be used for management to improve support of nurses to ensure accurately assessing patient's conscious level. Management should formulate strategies to encourage nurses to resolve actual problems following training or mentoring and to increase the depth and breadth of nurses' KAS to perform the conscious level assessment using the GCS.

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“…The GCS is a neurological assessment tool that measures the depth and duration of impaired consciousness and coma in patients with traumatic head injuries and neurological pathologies (Waterhouse 2008). The GCS evolved from the Coma Index (Palmer & Knight 2006), which in turn, was developed based on the Ommaya vital sign card (Cohen 2009). The GCS was developed as a research tool to monitor the conscious level in head injury patients and provide objective assessments of comatose patients (Fischer & Mathieson 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%