1017 - When seconds matter: Emergency airway competency using interprofessional education

Overview/Abstract: Airway emergency competency is imperative to positive patient outcomes when airway emergencies occur in the ambulatory perioperative setting. Ambulatory perioperative settings (APS) often do not have the full immediate response support of rapid response or code teams that larger inpatient facilities employ. At a large multi-site academic medical center, the four separate APS teams rely on staff with varying experience, certification, and therefore competency levels to provide immediate emergency response to patients experiencing airway emergencies. Using the Donna Wright methodology of ongoing competency, it was determined that the interdisciplinary teams needed additional education and training to increase airway emergency competency. In an innovative approach to nursing competency management, an interdisciplinary team was formed to address this identified low-frequency, high-risk practice gap. The team included an anesthesia tech educator, peri-anesthesia NPDS, and a perioperative NPDS who assessed competency, engaged staff, and used innovative interprofessional education to increase emergency airway management competency across the interprofessional team of perioperative and perianesthesia registered nurses, surgical, anesthesia, and hospital techs. Innovative methods of education and competency assessment included didactic material, hands-on return demonstration, scavenger hunts, case studies, and low-fidelity interprofessional simulation. The focus on interprofessional education increased the knowledge base, skill set, communication, and collaboration among the teams, subsequently enabling them to respond competently and confidently to airway emergencies in this patient population.