Increasing Nursing Knowledge of ST-Elevated Myocardial Infarction Recognition on 12-Lead Electrocardiograms to Improve Patient Outcomes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Early identification of ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) on electrocardiograms (ECGs) is vital to patient outcomes. Therefore, nurses need to have the knowledge to quickly recognize this lethal dysrhythmia. METHOD: The purpose of this pretest-posttest study was to increase nursing's knowledge on accurate and timely identification of an STEMI using an online educational intervention delivered via social media. RESULTS: This study included a convenience sample of 31 RNs employed in an urban hospital in the Midwest. The mean score on the pretest was 7.53 of 10 (p = .028), which improved to 9.11 of 10 (t = 6.273; p = .000) on the posttest. CONCLUSION: The use of social media to reach adult learners may be an effective means of delivering continuing education. Additional work is needed to further explore the use of educating bedside nurses on the importance of using the 12-lead ECG as a screening tool. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(10):475-480.].