Managing burn patients in the Emergency Department: a survey on nurses’ knowledge

Introduction: Burns are a global public health problem. Providing quality care in the first few hours after injury can significantly affect the patient’s long-term outcome. Nevertheless, the existing literature does not sufficiently address the nurse’s training on the matter. The aim of this paper is to assess emergency nurses’ knowledge of burn patient management, identify training needs, and investigate protocols in different settings.

Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was administered through Google Forms to emergency nurses working throughout Italy between August and September 2021. Data analysis was done in Microsoft Excel.

Results: A total of 74 nurses completed the survey. 36.5% of respondents work in the anaesthesiology and intensive care unit, 36.5% in the A&E, 25.7% in local emergency services, and 1.4% in burn centres. The majority of respondents fall in the 25-35 age range, and have been working for over a decade; only one fourth of them earned a postgraduate degree.

Nobody answered all the theoretical questions correctly; half got at least 50% right; only 4 got more than 70%. Most respondents have treated at least one burn patient, and have never taken part in a specific training course but would be interested in doing so in the future. Only few respondents reported having protocols.

Discussion: In line with published research, the study found that many nurses struggle to answer theoretical questions correctly despite seniority; few take part in specific training courses; protocols for burn injuries are not widespread.

Conclusions: Nurses’ knowledge of burn patient management is limited; training is inadequate but healthcare professionals would be willing to participate in specific training courses; protocols are often unavailable.