Background: Nurses can safely and effectively wean patients from mechanical ventilation (MV) by the use of proper instruments and planning.
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 2 training methods on the decision-making skill of intensive critical care (ICU) nurses with regard to weaning from MV.
Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 80 nurses working in ICUs participated in 1 of 2 educational groups in 2016. The interventions were workshop and multimedia training for decision-making skill regarding weaning from MV. The data were gathered from a questionnaire based on the Burns Weaning Assessment Program tool before and 1 month after the intervention. Data were analyzed by independent t test, the χ test, and the Fisher exact test using the software SPSS v. 17.
Results: The decision-making skill with regard to awareness of weaning factors (physiological and respiratory) increased in both groups after the intervention (P ≤ .001), but the difference between the 2 groups was not statistically meaningful. Considering the mean scores before and after the intervention, the general skill of decision-making regarding weaning from MV was higher in the multimedia training group compared with the workshop training group (P ≤ .001).
Conclusion: The multimedia training method, which has been more successful, is recommended owing to its characteristics of virtual education, such as accessibility, flexibility, learner centeredness, and expansibility, as well as nurses' lack of time.