Satisfaction of Scrub Nurses and Medical Personnel with Anesthetic Services at Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast Hospital, Khon Kaen Province

Background and Objectives: The collaboration between anesthesiologists and surgical instrument nurses and medical staff is linked to surgical outcomes and quality, which is an indicator of quality improvement. The Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast had no data regarding satisfaction with participation in anesthesia services among these personnel groups, which is a quality improvement indicator for The Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation process. Therefore, the researchers aimed to study this satisfaction. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample included all surgical instrument nurses and medical staff working in anesthesia services between May and July 2016. Questionnaires were distributed to 55 individuals, with 49 responses received. The questionnaire was validated for content validity by 2 senior anesthesiologists and pilot tested with 5 participants, yielding a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85. Scores ranged from 1 to 4 and were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: Satisfaction with participation in anesthesia services among surgical instrument nurses and medical staff at the Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast was overall at high to very high levels across all phases: preoperative period (3.10 ± 0.74 to 3.57 ± 0.54), operating room (3.43 ± 0.54 to 3.57 ± 0.58), and post-anesthesia care unit (3.39 ± 0.61 to 3.57 ± 0.54). Areas requiring improvement included: coordination before surgery/procedures or changes in scheduled anesthesia service times, readiness of the anesthesia team to begin service when the team and equipment are ready, and appropriateness of management of infected patients in the post-anesthesia care unit. Conclusion: The level of satisfaction with participation in anesthesia services among surgical instrument nurses and medical staff at the Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast was at high to very high levels.