Table 3.
Self-confidence and comfort with Impella catheter
| Answer options | Rating average Fall 2013 (n=19) |
Rating average May 2014 (n=19) |
Rating average September 2014 (n=17) |
Rating average January 2015 (n=13) |
Rating average February 2017 (n=22) |
Rating average July 2017 (n=20) |
| I am confident that I have the skills and required knowledge to perform the necessary tasks for managing a patient with an Impella catheter. | 3.79 | 3.89 | 3.94 | 4.23 | 3.77 | 3.74 |
| I feel confident that I will not miss any necessary tasks (eg, echo, transfer to standard configuration, catheter centimetre marking, pressure tubing set up) when admitting a patient with an Impella catheter. | 3.37 | 3.63 | 3.76 | 4.08 | 3.64 | 3.79 |
| I am confident that I will not miss any required ongoing general patient monitoring and care assessments for a patient with the Impella catheter. | 3.63 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.31 | 3.91 | 3.84 |
| I do not feel confident that I am able to determine the proper placement signal and motor current waveforms for the Impella catheter. | 2.26 | 2.32 | 2.12 | 1.62 | 2.41 | 2.26 |
| I am confident that I can determine if the Impella catheter is properly positioned and functioning based on my assessments of the Impella flow rate. | 3.89 | 3.95 | 4.06 | 4.15 | 3.82 | 3.79 |
| I do not feel confident that I can locate the amount of purge solution delivered and purge pressure on an hourly basis. | 2.32 | 2.11 | 1.94 | 1.54 | 1.91 | 1.89 |
| I am confident that I can determine potential causes for alarms. | 3.58 | 4.00 | 3.94 | 4.23 | 3.73 | 3.53 |
| I feel confident that I can identify the correct interventions for an alarm on the Impella device. | 3.47 | 3.89 | 3.88 | 4.31 | 3.73 | 3.58 |
| I do not feel confident that I can manage/troubleshoot alarms (eg, suction, low purge flow pressure, wrong position or flow reduced) for the Impella catheter. | 2.53 | 2.05 | 1.94 | 2.00 | 2.27 | 2.21 |
| I am confident that I know what to do with the Impella device in the event of a CPR. | 3.68 | 4.05 | 4.06 | 4.31 | 4.05 | 3.84 |
| When admitting a patient with the Impella catheter, my comfort level with completing all of the necessary tasks (specific to the device) is: | 2.89 | 3.26 | 3.53 | 3.77 | 3.23 | 3.32 |
| While performing the ongoing general patient monitoring and care (eg, vital signs, circulation checks, haemodynamic profiles and physical assessment) for a patient with the Impella catheter, my comfort level is: | 3.74 | 3.68 | 3.88 | 4.23 | 3.41 | 3.58 |
| My comfort level with ongoing monitoring of waveforms to verify placement of the Impella catheter is: | 3.63 | 3.68 | 3.65 | 4.00 | 3.41 | 3.53 |
| My comfort level with ongoing monitoring of the Impella flow rate is: | 3.42 | 3.74 | 3.65 | 4.15 | 3.41 | 3.63 |
| My comfort level in monitoring the purge flow rate and purge pressure is: | 3.47 | 3.63 | 3.59 | 4.08 | 3.45 | 3.58 |
| When I am troubleshooting a problem or alarms with the Impella catheter, my comfort level is: | 2.79 | 3.26 | 3.24 | 3.54 | 3.18 | 3.21 |
| During a CPR, my comfort level in knowing what to do with the Impella device is: | 3.26 | 3.53 | 3.76 | 4.15 | 3.5 | 3.63 |
Note: possible range on all scales is 1–5. Ratings (using a Likert scale) of overall self-confidence all demonstrated clinically relevant improvements over time between November 2013 and July 2017.
CPR, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.