Competencies of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Nurses on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Protocols

Abstract

The nursing profession is one of the indispensable professions created by the regulatory board because of its demand in the medical arena. The entitlement was due to passing the board for nursing; competence was necessary to always keep up with the procedure. The researcher conducted the study to measure the competency of (ACLS) nurses on ICU protocol and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the ICU nurses. A descriptive and correlational research design was adopted and gathered data using a questionnaire. The study was conducted on the ACLS ICU nurses and Head Nurses/Nurse Supervisors of selected secondary hospitals in Eastern Pangasinan. The study results showed that the majority were young adults dominated by females and not in marital relationships. Most did not pursue a higher degree of learning and directly gave nursing care to patients. At the same time, the head nurse/supervisors who oversee the ICU nurses had a few years in service and had undergone a few related pieces of training on ACLS. The respondents were competent. The differences in competency across age and gender were found. Civil status showed that married nurses had significantly higher levels of competence in professional and insignificant areas, along with technical, relational, and other pieces of training. Other variables were detected to show negligible relationships. Enhancement training should be conducted which includes a review of the existing policies and guidelines to grasp the competencies, knowledge, and skills.