An analysis of training needs of the nurses at the emergency services in Izmir

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the training needs of emergency nurses as well as level of satisfaction along with the factors associated with it at emergency services in Izmir. Methods: The cross-sectional analytic study carried out between January 2nd 2008 and April 30th 2008 includes emergency nurses at emergency services of a total of nine hospitals including university, state -affiliated or private hospitals in Izmir. The survey questions aimed at determining socio-demographic and professional features, current educational levels and training needs of the nurses, studied level of satisfaction at emergency services. The survey forms, in accordance with the approval of the 'Emergency Medicine Association of Turkey' (EMAT), were sent to the emergency services of nine hospitals and collected back by mail. Results: 199 emergency nurses participated in the study. It was determined that participants have been practicing nursing for an average of 2.64 +/- 1.21 years; emergency nursing for 2.03 +/- 0.90 years; and have been working on average 45.24 6.46 hours a week. 92.8% of the participants did not attend any certified training programs after their graduation, and 64.6% of the hospitals provided some in-service training for them. It was also determined that 62.8% of the nurses did not find the in-service training programs sufficient for their needs. It was observed that 78.3% of the participants wanted to attend a training on 'Basic Life Support; 77.4% on 'Advanced Cardiac Life Support; 81.7% on 'Advanced Trauma Life Support; 88.1% on 'Electro-cardiography Assessment; 84.1% on 'Disaster Planning and Organization'. 70.1% stated that they did not know where to find the desired training programs and did not have enough information about post-graduate training programs offered by the Emergency Medicine Association of Turkey. The ratio of nurses with associate or undergraduate degree attending EMAT training programs found to be higher than that of nurses with high school degree. It was also found that the level of participation and the degree of awareness of EMAT training programs is significantly lower in nurses with longer service years. 62.3% of the nurses stated they were happy with working in the emergency services and 71.1% of the nurses stated they did not want to change the services they work at. Conclusions: Nurses at emergency services in Izmir have stated that they are satisfied with their jobs and do not want to change their work areas; however, they believe that in-service training programs are currently insufficient. Even though they are eager to attend any post-graduate training programs, they stated that they are unaware of these programs and do not know how to get information about them.