Continuing Education Certificate in Trauma Skills Among Emergency Nurses: A National Sample Survey Analysis.

Background: Trauma population health indicators are worsening in the United States. Nurses working in trauma care settings require specialized training for patient care. Little is known about national enumeration of nurses who hold skill-based trauma certificates.

Objective: The purpose of this project was to estimate (1) skill-based certificate status among U.S. nurses who primarily work with emergency or trauma patients, (2) demographic and work characteristic differences between those who report skill-based trauma certificates and those who do not, and (3) continuing education learning needs among nurses who hold skill-based trauma certificates.

Methods: This was an applied epidemiologic analysis of the 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses.

Results: The weighted analysis of 239,893 emergency nurses indicated 57% held skill-based trauma certificates with disparities by rural practice, racial identity, age, and marital status. Among those who held skill-based trauma certificates, the greatest need for continuing education was on topics of mental health, quality improvement, and substance use disorders. Approximately 87% of emergency nurses with trauma skill-based certificates only spoke English fluently.

Conclusions: Population health management interventions are needed to enhance workforce equity and continuing education opportunities for trauma nurses. Professional nursing organizations, emergency nursing employers, and academic settings should offer continuing education in mental health and quality improvement. These findings also support the need for ongoing activities to enhance language accessibility for non-English speaking patients in the trauma care system.