A journey taken when developing a new neurovascular assessment tool

Summary 

Serious injuries to the musculoskeletal system can result in increased morbidity, long-term functional impairment, pain and deformity [Handoll, H., Madhok, R., 2003. Conservative interventions for treating distal radial fractures in adults. Cochrane. Database of Systematic Reviews: CD000314]. The clinical presentation of compartment syndrome is often indefinite and confusing leading to delays with diagnosis despite the presence of signs and symptoms [Schoen, D., 2000. Adult Orthopaedic Nursing. Philadelphia, Lippincott]. Thus, it follows the orthopaedic nurse is in a key position to conduct a comprehensive neurovascular assessment and to reduce the risk of neurovascular compromise .

An issue of concern was raised by clinicians in relation to difficulties encountered in accurately recording the neurovascular status of patients in a large urban university hospital in Southern Ireland. Consequently, a collaborative working group formed to develop upper and lower limb assessment tools combining academic and clinical practice perspectives. The evidence-based tools developed have been approved for clinical use with orthopaedic and plastic surgical patients.

By sharing the experiences of this endeavour the group fulfill an appeal made in the literature which encourages nurse researchers who undertake scholarly activities, to share experiences of the practicalities involved in doing so [Mc Lafferty, I. 2004. Focus group interviews as a data collecting strategy. Journal of Advanced Nursing 48 (2), 187–194]. In this paper the experiences of a group of several grades of nurses engaged in a practice development project are outlined as well as the opportunities which arose as a result of collaborative working.

Keywords: Neurovascular assessment, Collaborative working, Practice development