Competency Of Critical Care Nurses In Sedation Administration: A Cross-Sectional Survey In Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: It is essential for critical care nurses to competently administer sedation practice within the defined ethical framework in nursing to meet a patient's needs in any healthcare setting. The administration and regulation of sedation are still challenging, and no consensus has been reached over its regulation. The study aims to investigate the critical care nurse’s competency in the attitudes, practice, subjective norms, sedation orders and goals, and perceived behavioral control toward sedation administration and confidence in the administration of sedation and sedation‐related complications. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized. A self-completion electronic questionnaire was used to collect data from participating nurses.  A convenience purposive sampling was employed of 384 registered nurses who provide sedation or monitor patients who have received sedation, working in various healthcare institutions, forming a comprehensive dataset survey in Saudi Arabia, such as Armed Forces Hospital in Al-Hada and the King Fahad Medical City.  Three tools were included in a questionnaire: Demographic Characteristics sheet (8 items); Nurse Sedation Practices Scale (27 items), and Confidence Managing Sedation Complications Scale (18 items). The nurses’ responses were evaluated based on total scores that reflected stronger agreement with the nurses’ attitude, practices, or confidence, and vice versa, by analyzing an Excel sheet of responses.

Results: The total mean scores for nurses’ attitudes, subjective norms, and sedation commands and goals were (3.797), (3.869), and (3.931), respectively, reflecting high nurses’ competency. Participated nurses reported a high mean of overall confidence in their ability to manage sedation-related problems by (M = 4.033, SD = 1.044). The results showed a highly significant impact of nurses’ attitude toward sedation, subjective norms, sedation orders and goals, perceived behavioral control, nurses’ sedation practices, confidence in managing sedation, and the education level of nurses as predictors on the nursing sedation competency at p= (0.000, 0.00, 0.00, 0.00, 0.00, 0.00, and 0.019), respectively. Conclusion: The majority of Saudi female highly educated critical care nurses’ competency is highly impacted by their attitude, subjective norms, sedation orders and goals, perceived behavioral control, nurses’ sedation practices, and confidence in managing sedation as predictors of the nursing sedation competency.