Clinical implementation of the Validated Intraoperative Bleeding Scale: Perioperative patient management and effective team communication from the nurses' perspective.

Abstract

Major bleeding represents a critical scenario that can quickly evolve into life threatening, thereby compromising patient safety. A Validated Intraoperative Bleeding Scale called VIBe Scale was introduced and studied as part of a quality improvement initiative. This study evaluated the clinical implementation of the VIBe Scale in perioperative patient management and team communication from the nurses' perspectives. A descriptive study was undertaken, incorporating introductory lecture, simulation of major bleeding event and post-lecture questionnaire with 33 operating room nurses. Despite many participants not previously having experience of the VIBe Scale in practice, over two-thirds reported the scale could improve situational awareness. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds reported they could see the utility of the VIBe Scale as a tool to improve communication. Our study shows that the VIBe Scale is an easily understood concept, has the potential to increase situational awareness and can support team communication around intraoperative bleeding events.