Putting the "E" in SafEty-Education for New Products

Purpose:
Putting the "E" in safEty for product education is an important link in the implementation phase of investigating, evaluating, and implementing products in the healthcare arena. In addition to patient safety, product changes impact nursing safety, policies, procedures and competencies.

Significance:
Introducing new products or product upgrades can have significant safety risks if effective or efficient educational strategies are not utilized. The Education Nurse Specialist functions as the link for assessing product educational needs and implementing appropriate strategies for product rollout.

Strategy and Implementation:
A missing link was identified in the implementation phase of new products -education. One of the roles of the Education Nurse Specialist (ENS) is that of facilitation. The ENS is a non-voting member/liaison on the system Product team assessing nursing staff education needs for products that are being evaluated. The ENS works closely with the Clinical Nurse Specialist and the Clinical Educators on the clinical significance that a product will have on practice, policies and procedures. Education and competencies focus on safety and clinical outcomes. Timing of the availability of the product for staff is coordinated with the Product Value Analyst and Central Supply stocking to ensure that educational needs have been addressed first. Interfacing with the product representative is crucial. Determining the impact of the product on nursing practice and processes, appropriate educational strategies are employed for simple to compound or complex concepts.

Evaluation:
Education effectiveness is reflected in quality measures impacted. For example, use of visual cue stickers for early removal of retention catheters in new insertion kits; a Product Tip Sheet for new locked restraints added to competencies; and hands-on classes for new AED defibrillators.

Implications for Practice:
The Education Nurse Specialist plays a critical role as facilitator of nursing education for new products and is an important link for product safety and quality outcomes.