A Radiation Safety Education Intervention for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists by Alyssa Oliveri

Abstract

CRNAs provide anesthesia for surgeries that utilize ionizing radiation daily and must possess the knowledge to protect themselves from the negative biological sequelae that can be caused by ionizing radiation exposure. By increasing awareness of the risks of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation in the anesthesia setting, safer radiation precautions can be promoted to aid in minimizing workplace exposure. The PICO question for this QI project is, “In CRNAs, does a radiation safety online educational intervention improve knowledge of radiation safety measures?” For the implementation of this project, an online education intervention was distributed to 157 CRNAs at a Level I trauma center. The intervention contained a pre-test consisting of four demographic and 11 knowledge-based questions, a narrated radiation safety infographic, and a post-test consisting of the same knowledge-based questions as the pre-test. Data analysis revealed that the educational infographic enhanced CRNA’s knowledge of radiation
safety. CRNAs demonstrated the most improvement in their knowledge of potential health hazards of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. The QI project recommends increasing distance away from the radiation source, custom fit lead, acknowledgment of ionizing radiation use during the surgical time-out, and for CRNAs to be sent their quarterly dosimeter reports.

Keywords: anesthesiologists, cancer, cataracts, fluoroscopy, ionizing radiation, nurse anesthetists, pregnancy, occupational risk, radiation exposure

Presentation

Biography

Alyssa Oliveri, BSN, RN

Alyssa Oliveri attended the University at Buffalo (SUNY) where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. For five years, she worked as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the Cardiovascular ICU (CVICU). She also spent two years working as an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Specialist. In 2021, she began the UNC Charlotte/Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) Nursing Anesthesia Program. She is projected
to graduate in May 2024 with her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree (DNP) and upon passing the National Certification Exam (NCE) will become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).

Khadija Faulkner, BSN, RN

Khadija Faulkner attended the University of South Carolina, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. She worked as a Registered Nurse (RN) for five years in different Medical/Surgical Intensive Care units. In 2021, she began the University of North Carolina UNC Charlotte/Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) Nurse Anesthesia Program. She is projected to graduate in May 2024 with her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree (DNP) and, upon passing the National Certification Exam (NCE), will become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).

Faculty Committee Advisor(s)

Stephanie Woods, PhD, RN

Katie Shue-McGuffin, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

Dianne Earnhardt, DNP, CRNA

Jodie Huffstetler, EdD, RT(R)

Tricia Turner, PhD, ATC