The basic knowledge assessment tool: is it useful?
Registered Nurses (RN’s) caring for the critically ill, require a wide range of specialised skills and knowledge. Assessing knowledge of RN’s within Intensive Care Units (ICU’s) is imperative if we are to ensure that patients are afforded quality care. The aim of this study was to evaluate existing knowledge of the RN’s working in the ICU of a major teaching hospital using the Basic Knowledge Assessment Tool (BKAT). Overall mean test scores of 78% were encouraging. Knowledge gaps were evident in gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders. Significantly higher scores were obtained by RN’s trained in the hospital based system (p = 0.02) and those possessing ICU qualifications (p = 0.01). There were no differences in scores according to age and length of ICU experience. Registered nurses scored badly in a number of questions, which highlighted some problems in the terminology used in the BKAT.
