Background: Approximately 32% of all lymphoma patients experience immunocompromised severe avoidable side effects of nadir at home after discharge postchemotherapy. The certified oncology nurses employed at a large metropolitan hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, lack standardized discharge guidelines that include regulatory organizations’ recommendations to assist patients/families with at-home self-management of the avoidable side effects. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to utilize the institution’s existing postchemotherapy discharge protocol to assess certified oncology nurses’ knowledge of severe avoidable side effects of nadir; modify the existing healthcare institution’s postchemotherapy discharge protocol to reflect standardized practice for promoting clinical practice continuity by leading organizations; conduct multifaceted training seminars to disseminate the modified postchemotherapy discharge guideline; evaluate the oncology nurses’ knowledge of severe avoidable side effects of nadir postchemotherapy after modified guideline implementation; and collaborate with the intraprofessional team to determine if the modified postchemotherapy discharge guideline was feasible and acceptable for system wide hospital implementation. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework used was Benner’s model of nurse proficiency: expert nurses develop skills and understanding of patient care through a sound educational base and a multitude of experiences. Methods: The existing postchemotherapy discharge protocol was used to develop a developed standardized guideline incorporating regulatory organizations’ recommendations for severe avoidable side effects of nadir postchemotherapy for nursing discharge information and patients’ at-home management. Ten oncology registered nurses on a 16-bed oncology unit participated in two 10-question Likert scale questionnaires based on the existing guideline (pretest) and the modified guideline (posttest) before and after an educational intervention. A quantitative nonparametric descriptive design was used. The questionnaires were analyzed with a two-tailed paired t test, p = 0.05, CI = 95, SD = 12. Results: Nurses significantly improved from pretest to posttest—63% before receiving modified guideline education and 83% after receiving education (p
| Date of Award | Jan 1 2017 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Mary D Mites-Campbell (Supervisor) |
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