LAUSR

Learning Objectives: Extensive time and resources are routinely devoted to training registered nurses (RN) to orient to the intensive care unit (ICU). Much of the focus of the training is on obtaining the baseline clinical and technical knowledge required to be competent in the ICU environment through work with a nurse preceptor. For units with high nursing turnover and a large percentage of inexperienced RN staff, traditional nurse mentorship experiences beyond the orientation period are often limited or unavailable, leaving some nurses feeling ill-prepared for complex situations that arise in their new role. There is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of interdisciplinary mentoring in the ICU environment. This study’s hypothesis was that an interdisciplinary physician-nurse mentorship program would improve nurses’ perceptions of their clinical knowledge (CK), clinical judgment (CJ), and confidence in caring for critically ill patients, as well as their perceptions of psychological safety when collaborating with ICU physicians (MD). Methods: The study site was an eight-bed community hospital ICU. A prospective, mixed-method, pre-post observational design was used to achieve study aims. Over a three-month period, RNs with > 1.5 years’ experience spent four hours 1:1 with one of three intensivist MDs; RNs with < 1.5 years’ experience spent 8 hours. Paired T-tests and independent measures T tests were used to analyze quantitative data, and qualitative comments were analyzed for themes. Results: Fifteen RNs completed the mentorship program. Fourteen completed the pre-assessment and twelve completed the post-assessment. The program significantly impacted RN perceptions of CK (p<0.011), as well as RN confidence when collaborating with physicians related to care planning (p<0.011). Themes from qualitative comments corroborated these findings; indicating that RNs perceived increased clinical knowledge and improved comfort when collaborating with the physicians. Conclusions: An interdisciplinary MD-RN mentorship program significantly improved RN perceptions of clinical knowledge and confidence in collaborating with physicians for planning care for ICU patients. CCMCritical Care MedicineCrit Care Med0090-3493Lippincott Williams & WilkinsHagerstown, MD CCM