Rapid Response Competency & Testing?

[TulsaTime]

Our rapid response team in our hospital consists of a dedicated RRT nurse who does not take patients & a respiratory therapist. Our team has really grown in breadth of resource calls we get over the last year & we have been discussing how best to assess for new team members qualifications/skills for full time & relief staff (we have 1 RRT nurse in house at all times).

I'm interested in finding out what other hospitals have done for requirements to do RRT, competency testing, and evaluation? We currently use the ICU competencies but don't feel they accurately reflect the skills required to do RRT. Example: You can handle your patient circling the drain in ICU where it's controlled but can you do the same on the floor where everyone is looking to you for direction?

[deemo21]

Hello. I am a dedicated RRT nurse at a major hospital. I was recently hired into this position. The staff primarily consisted of nurses with many years of ICU experience. This provided them with a strong critical care background. They were nervous about hiring me because I had an ER background. After doing this job for a few months, I feel that my role is still very similar to an ER nurse. A person has a complaint or a change in their physical condition, you look at their medical and surgical history, vital signs, diagnostics, and create a treatment plan with the provider. I think you would benefit from having ER competencies as well. ICU nurses are pretty used to having almost everything they need to fully take care of the patients in their environment and not having that available can make RRT calls frustrating.

[TulsaTime]

I agree with you 100%. I have an ICU and ER background having done both areas. I've been in the RRT role for just over a year now and LOVE it. We just can't figure out how to "measure" that part of the job prior to someone being hired in.