The Use of Clinimetrics in the Practice of a Neurosurgical Nurse. Preliminary Reports

Introduction. Clinimetrics is a field of medical knowledge aimed at developing and using measuring tools (scales) to assess the condition of a patient. Using clinimetric scales, a nurse, based on her/his knowledge, skills and experience, is able to determine the patient’s condition, potential health problems and establish a care plan based on a nursing diagnosis. Aim. The main aim of the research was to analyse the use of measurement tools in the practice of a neurosurgical nurse. Material and Methods. The study was conducted on a group of 93 nurses employed in 6 neurosurgical centres located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship. The study used the diagnostic survey method, using the survey technique. In order to obtain an answer to the main objective of the research, a questionnaire was constructed consisting of a general part (demographic data) and a detailed part (data concerning measurement tools). Results. It was found that 68 (73%) neurosurgical nurses use measuring tools (scales) to assess the condition of the patient in their professional practice. The most popular scales are: Glasgow Coma Scale — GCS (93 — 100% of responses), Barthel Index — BI (56 — 60% of responses), Kurtzke Extended Disability Status Scale (43 — 46% of responses) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (38 — 40% of responses). A statistically significant relationship was found between the use of measuring tools (scales) and education (< 0.0001) and specialization by nurses (< 0.0001). There was no dependence on age (p < 0.05) and seniority (p < 0.05) of nurses. Conclusions. More than half of the surveyed neurosurgical nurses use measuring tools (scales) in their professional practice to assess the patient’s condition. The most popular measuring tool (scale) is the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). A relationship was observed between education and specialization and the use of measuring tools (scales) to assess the condition of a patient in professional practice. (JNNN 2022;11(3):124–129)