Implementing an Obstetrics-Specific Triage Acuity Tool to Increase Nurses' Knowledge and Improve Timeliness of Care.

OBJECTIVE: To implement an obstetrics-specific triage acuity tool called the Maternal Fetal Triage Index (MFTI) in two maternity units, test the change in nurses' knowledge of triage assessment, and improve timeliness of care.

DESIGN: A quality improvement project that included pre- and posttesting of nursing knowledge using the MFTI and measuring the difference in time based on time stamps from pregnant women's intake sheets.

SETTING/LOCAL PROBLEM: Two hospitals that are part of a large multi-campus hospital system in the Southeastern United States.

PARTICIPANTS: Obstetric triage nurses who have worked in obstetrics for more than 2 years.

INTERVENTION/MEASUREMENTS: Participants watched a clinical module about the MFTI and took a pretest; then, 2 months after implementation of the MFTI, they took a posttest. Comparisons of means of the tests were analyzed for a knowledge increase. A retrospective analysis of pre-implementation triage times was conducted using chart reviews from the previous year. This time was then compared with the weekly mean times on the patient flow sheets to assess for timeliness of care.

RESULTS: Participants received the educational session, took a pretest, and followed up with completion of a posttest 2 months later. There was an increase in nursing knowledge from a pretest mean score of 79% to a posttest mean score of 95%. Once the MFTI was implemented, timeliness of care improved; the result was a pre-implementation mean time of 19 minutes compared with a post-implementation mean time of 10.4 minutes.

CONCLUSION: The educational sessions effectively increased nursing knowledge, and the timeliness of care component showed an improvement from pre- to post-implementation time.