The impact of educational interventions for nurses on mechanically ventilated patients' outcomes in a Jordanian university hospital

Aims and objectives To determine the effect of educational interventions for nurses on the success of weaning trials, ventilation period and reintubation incidence for mechanically ventilated patients in a Jordanian university hospital. Background Sharing decision between healthcare providers about weaning should be based on specific guidelines or protocols to avoid complications associated with wrong weaning estimation. Design A nonequivalent, pretest–post‐test (quasi‐experimental) study. Methods The study used a convenience sample consisting of 135 ventilated patients. The historical control group (n = 65) data were collected from patients’ files before the implementation of the educational interventions for the experimental group (n = 70), which was recruited from intensive care units at a university hospital. The experimental group received educational interventions on Burns Weaning Assessment Protocol items over one month through in‐service education, bedsides and hands‐on application. Data were collected about Burns Weaning Assessment Protocol scores, failed trials, reintubation incidence and ventilation period for all participants. Results The results showed that the number of failed trials and reintubation incidence was less in the experimental group compared with the control group. On the other hand, there was not any significant difference in the score of ventilation period between the experimental and control groups. Conclusion Educational interventions for nurses on Burns Weaning Assessment Protocol have a significant impact on reducing incidence of failed trials and reintubation. Relevance to clinical practice The improvement of outcomes of patients on mechanical ventilators is a result of shared decision based on effective planning and communication between nurses and physicians.