Abstracts

The number of staff working in epilepsy monitoring units (EMU[apos]s) is increasing due to a proliferation of units and the complexity of delivering care for these patients has also increased. The staff may include: monitoring/health care/ EEG technicians, and nurses. Limited information is available regarding how much training is necessary for staff working in an EMU as few surveys or educational assessments have been conducted. A new EMU was opened in Hawaii allowing the study of what may be required when training new staff. An educational questionnaire was developed to assess new staff competency before and after orientation. The information obtained from our survey may help guide the formation of standardized guidelines to establish EMU staff competencies. Initial training involved a three hour class which included information about: classification of seizures, medications, an overview of EMU, unique EMU patient care and safety issues. All new hires undergo uniform training and there is ongoing education conducted by an epilepsy nurse coordinator. All staff assigned to the EMU were given a 20 question instrument to assess attitudes and knowledge about patients with seizures prior to training. The survey included questions regarding adequacy of classroom and bedside training before and after working within the EMU. They were also given a 10 question test regarding their knowledge about epilepsy. 25 surveys were completed, 11 nurses, 8 HCT[rsquo]s, and 6 monitor technicians. 40 % rated (high or very high) their anxiety level upon learning that an EMU would be opening but this dropped to 13% after working in the EMU. 52% rated their knowledge level of seizures as high or very high before training and after working in the EMU 38% believed they could teach others to work in this unit. 64% thought they received enough classroom training and 58% believed they received enough bedside training, however, the education tool revealed major mismatches in staff perception of knowledge versus actual competency. 86% responded that automatisms such as lip smacking were part of a simple partial seizure versus the correct answer of complex partial seizures. 100% of the respondents correctly answered safety questions and 98% correctly identified appropriate nursing interventions for patients having seizures. Working within an EMU can account for a high level of anxiety and requires a special level of competency for working with these patients. Expectations of the work involved may differ greatly from what actually occurs, however, proper training may help to bridge this gap and improve patient care. Further studies are needed looking at training done at other centers, and possible development of standards for training new staff for the EMU.