BUILDING REHABILITATION CAPACITY IN NURSING

Background Patients hospitalised for an acute illness or injuries are at risk of a significant loss of function (Kortebein, et al, 2008).Optimal outcomes for these patients are dependent on appropriate rehabilitation yet access to specialist rehabilitation services is limited, particularly in non-metropolitan areas of Australia. Therefore, many patients who would benefit from rehabilitation programs are managed by non-rehabilitation specialist teams. For these patients, achieving optimum functional capacity requires generalist nursing staff having some rehabilitation knowledge and skill. Aim To assess the rehabilitation learning needs of nurses within a Local Health District and to develop rehabilitation nursing learning packages to build organisational capacity. Method A web based learning needs assessment survey was sent to all nurses within the Local Health District. Results Fifty nine responses were received from nurses working in regional/rural and remote areas in a variety of clinical settings and specialties, forty seven percent (47%) of whom reported that their knowledge of rehabilitation nursing as less than good. Areas commonly cited by respondents as requiring further education included assessment in rehabilitation, planning appropriate rehabilitation interventions and the management of challenging rehabilitation patients. Conclusion This survey has identified the rehabilitation learning needs of nurses caring for patients in all areas of nursing and their preferred modes of delivery of a teaching programme. Our findings guided the development of an online Rehabilitation Nursing Education Program that will be available across the Local Health District. There are plans to offer the education Australia wide.