PULSE OXIMETRY
KNOWLEDGE AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AND NURSING STAFF
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29309/TPMJ/2006.13.02.5031Keywords:
Pulse oximeter, O saturation, knowledge, medical students, nurse staff, training courseAbstract
Background/Aim: Pulse oximetry has emerged as a clinical tool in
anesthesia and is becoming popular in developing countries. Unfortunately, its use is usually not accompanied by
appropriate staff training. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge about pulse oximetry among the 7th year
medical student Interns (MS) and nursing staff (NS) of Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and
Recovery Room (RR) of four medical-school affiliated hospitals in Shiraz, Iran. Study Period: Feb 2001- Feb 2002
Materials and Methods: A 14-item questionnaire (4 demographic and 10 knowledge), multiple-choice and open ended,
was developed to assess knowledge of pulse oximetry. Among 150 7th year medical students and 200 nursing staff,
40 from each group was randomly selected and invited to complete the questionnaire. Results: A 100% response rate
was achieved. All of the participants used pulse oximetry regularly in their daily work. The mean test scores for MS and
NS were 60.5 ± 21 and 49 ± 17%, respectively (p < 0.05). None of the participants had adequate training in the use
of pulse oximetry. Conclusion: Our study revealed that medical students and staff nurses were untrained in pulse
oximetry, lacked knowledge of basic principles, and made serious errors in interpretation of readings. Therefore, we
recommend that medical schools and nurse training programs place emphasis on teaching the principles and
applications of pulse oximetry and the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve.
