Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

M T. Verklan

Abstract

Local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) is a potentially life-threatening event following a local anesthetic bolus into the circulatory system. Because LAST is a low-volume, high-risk event, clinical exposure is lacking, creating a knowledge gap among perianesthesia nurses. A knowledge gap regarding LAST among perianesthesia nurses was identified at the project site, an ambulatory surgery center in south Mississippi. The practice-focused question was: Whether a web-based education intervention would increase perianesthesia nurses’ knowledge about LAST. The doctoral project aimed to provide perianesthesia nurses with the clinical knowledge essential for early detection of LAST symptoms. A LAST education module was developed using the adult learning theory and the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation model as frameworks. Thirty-one perianesthesia nurses participated in the LAST education module, completing a 10-question pretest to assess their LAST knowledge before the education intervention and provide demographic information of their years of nursing experience and years of perianesthesia nursing experience. A 10-question posttest was then administered after the education intervention. The results of the paired-samples t test yielded p values less than 0.001 and an increase in the mean scores from 58 to 90, indicating a statistically significant improvement in the nurses’ knowledge scores. The findings imply that web-based LAST education can improve LAST knowledge in perianesthesia nurses. The findings of this project promote positive social change by preparing nurses to provide competent care to patients receiving local aesthetics, thus improving patient safety and contributing to community health.

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