Purpose
An open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a complex, high-risk procedure, with limited opportunities for an instrument nurse to gain experience and develop the skills required to assist the surgeon in caring for the patient during surgery. The aim of the study was to develop the content for a virtual reality (VR) training tool designed to develop the instrument nurses’ skills when working in major vascular surgery.
Methodology
An exploratory qualitative design was utilised with semi-structured interviews and focus groups via Zoom. Participants were recruited via the Australian College of Perioperative Nurses and the Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery. The interviews were recorded using Zoom, deidentified and transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.
Results
Four major themes were identified from the data analysis: Preparation for surgery, Essential psychomotor skills, Non-technical skills, and The virtual reality training tool.
Conclusion
Expert vascular instrument nurses and consultant vascular surgeons provided a detailed compilation of the knowledge and skills required by an instrument nurse which will inform the development of the proposed VR training tool. With the increasing infrequency of open AAA repair, there are limited opportunities for instrument nurses to gain experience and develop the necessary skills. Hence there is a need to develop a realistic, repeatable, measurable experience such as a VR training tool for open AAA, to provide an accessible, learning experience for the instrument nurse.