Voices from the floor: Nurses’ perceptions of the medical emergency team

Salamonson, Yenna; Heere, Brigitte van; Everett, Bronwyn; Davidson, Patricia

doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2005.10.002

« Previous Next »Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Volume 22, Issue 3 , Pages 138-143, June 2006

Voices from the floor: Nurses’ perceptions of the medical emergency team

Yenna Salamonson
- School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown Campus, Building 7, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, New South Wales 1797, Australia
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 4620 3322; fax: +61 2 46254252.
Brigitte van Heere
- School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown Campus, Building 7, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, New South Wales 1797, Australia
- Tel.: +61 2 4620 3322; fax: +61 2 4625 4252.
Bronwyn Everett
- School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown Campus, Building 7, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, New South Wales 1797, Australia
- Tel.: +61 2 9772 6382; fax: +61 2 9773 0998.
Patricia Davidson
- Nursing Research Unit, School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, University of Western Sydney and Sydney West Area Health Service, Cumberland Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, New South Wales 2145, Australia
- Tel.: +61 2 8838 2051; Mobile: 0404 036 416; fax: +61 2 9840 3629.

Accepted 21 October 2005.

Summary

Nurses are the main group of clinicians who activate the medical emergency team (MET), placing them in an excellent position to provide valuable insights regarding the effectiveness of this system. This descriptive study aimed to explore nurses’ satisfaction with the MET, perceived benefits and suggestions for improvement. The study also sought to examine the characteristics of nurses who were more likely to activate the MET. Using a survey design, descriptive statistics as well as content analysis were used to analyse the data. Seventy-three nurses (79% response rate) returned their completed surveys. A positive and significant relationship was found between years of nursing experience and MET activation (p=0.018). Overall, nurses were satisfied with the MET, with suggestions for improvement including more education on medical emergencies for both ward and MET staff. Whilst the MET system is meeting the expectations of the majority of ward nurses, there is room for improvement, which includes a more positive attitude of the MET when summoned for ‘borderline’ cases. Investment in ongoing education of clinicians and interdisciplinary communication is likely to encourage less experienced nurses to utilise this system, whilst decreasing the reticence of some nurses to call the MET.