Evaluation of a teaching pack designed for nursing students to acquire the essential knowledge for competent practice in blood transfusion administration.

This article describes the evaluation of a teaching pack designed for nursing students to acquire the knowledge required for safe administration of blood transfusions. The Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) Committee is a confidential reporting body, which gathers data from the United Kingdom and reports the serious sequelae of blood transfusion. The SHOT reports have repeatedly identified that errors in blood transfusions are wholly avoidable. Nurses, as the health care professionals ultimately responsible for the bedside check, have the final opportunity to prevent a mis-transfusion [Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2004a. The NMC code of professional conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics. NMC, London; Serious Hazards of Transfusion, 2002. SHOT Annual Report 2001-2002. SHOT Scheme, Manchester]. The educational strategies implemented will be explained and evidence that applying structured learning programmes in the undergraduate nursing curriculum can improve students' knowledge presented. A structured questionnaire was employed to assess students' knowledge of the process for transfusing blood components pre- and post-teaching and evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching pack. The results will be presented and discussed.