Training of nurses in point-of-care testing: a systematic review of the literature

Aims and objectives To review and describe the training of nurses in point-of care testing. Background Point-of-care tests are usually carried out by nurses. They are used in many healthcare units. Through training, nurses are able to improve their competence in performing point-of-care testing. Design Systematic review. Method A literature search of electronic data was undertaken in autumn 2011 using CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, Medline (Ovid) and Scopus databases. Results From the available literature, six specific initiatives were analysed. The studies were performed on three continents and in five healthcare settings. The three interventions were related to glucose point-of-care testing. The training approaches involved seven aspects. The interventions were diverse, broad and multifaceted, but they appeared to be successful. The strength of the interventions lay in the involvement of laboratory staff. Quantitative synthesis of the data was not undertaken because of different designs for the studies. Conclusion Training can improve nurses' competence, and many methods are available. There are very few studies of training nurses in point-of-care testing, although in-depth descriptions of interventions in different settings would be valuable. Relevance to clinical practiceNurses can be trained using a variety of methods in different healthcare settings. To save resources, especially in large hospitals and sparsely populated areas, distance learning is worth considering. However if training is delivered with the support of laboratory professionals, nurses subsequently perform good-quality point-of-care testing.