Nurses' knowledge of nasogastric tube insertion and management in acute medical and surgical wards

Abstract

The aim of this descriptive study was to explore nurses' knowledge of nasogastric tube insertion and management in acute medical and surgical wards of a general hospital. Data was obtained through the use of a self-administered questionnaire which was administered to 30 nurses, who were selected using a simple convenience sampling design. A full response rate was achieved. Data was analysed through basic statistical analysis. This study shows that nurses have a certain amount of knowledge regarding nasogastric tube insertion and management; however they also appear to have insufficient knowledge in fundamental aspects of care, thus leading to the question of whether nurses' knowledge is sufficient to provide safe clinical practice. The results also suggest that the majority of nurses indicate the need to be further informed and educated with regards to insertion and management of nasogastric tubes. It is recommended that detailed information and education regarding nasogastric tube insertion and management should be included both in undergraduate and postgraduate nurse education and in continuous professional development courses (CPD). Moreover it is recommended that present local guidelines for nasogastric tube insertion and position checking should be reviewed and updated according to latest research-based findings, ultimately encouraging nurses to implement research-based findings in this clinical area.