Abstract
The Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses (ATCN) course was designed to help nurses increase their knowledge in management of the multiple trauma patient. To determine whether the trauma-related knowledge of ATCN course takers differed from nontakers, assess the factors associated with ATCN content knowledge among course takers, and explore the extent to which the ATCN content was used by course takers in their clinical practice. A cross-sectional online survey of 78 ATCN takers (nurses who had successfully completed the ATCN course within the previous 3 years) and 58 ATCN nontakers (a control group of nurses who had not taken the course but who worked in comparable clinical settings) was conducted. The survey consisted of demographic questions and a 15-item knowledge test spanning the ATCN course content. ATCN takers were also asked about the frequency with which a specific ATCN content had been used in their practice since taking the course. ATCN takers had a significantly higher (mean +/- SD = 10.6 +/- 2.2) total score on the study test than the ATCN nontakers (mean +/- SD = 6.4 +/- 2.6); t(134) = -10.0, p < .001. A shorter time since course completion was associated with higher knowledge scores. ATCN takers rated the clinical relevance and applicability of the course content as high. The findings suggest that completing the ATCN course increases knowledge levels of trauma patient management and that the ATCN course content is clinically relevant to the nurses. However, higher knowledge scores were observed for the most recent study participants, suggesting that booster sessions for ATCN course participants may be warranted.