Title : Leveling the playing field with EVD education
Abstract:
This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of how a community hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) was educated on caring for craniotomy patients with external ventricular drains (EVDs). This education includes standard medications and hospital-required documentation. An interactive design allowed opportunities to practice properly leveling the pressure level to the tragus.
This community hospital is combining the ICU with the surgical ICU (SICU) to create a medical-surgical ICU (MSICU) in May 2023 as part of the newly built critical care tower. A pre-education survey was completed to determine if education was needed. This survey showed approximately 65% of the unit had less than one year of experience caring for craniotomies, with even fewer caring for a craniotomy with an EVD.
A tri-fold poster board was used to display the education. One of the hospital’s older EVDs that is no longer used was attached to the board, along with an image of an ear, a small box level, and a transducer from an arterial line kit. The ear image, the level, and the transducer were attached to the board with Velcro to allow practice with leveling the transducer and the pressure level at the level of the tragus. The ear was made adjustable rather than the EVD due to the limitations in space; however, the goal of education was to ensure that the staff understood proper leveling.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- The audience can use this information to recreate the interactive education for their facility and staff.
- This education could motivate the audience to review the policies and practices of their facilities to determine if the standards of care are up to date.
- Those in the audience that do not have any experience with craniotomies and/or EVDs could get a basic understanding of Lippincott-based standards of care for these patients.
