Sepsis Awareness to Enhance Early Identification of Sepsis in Emergency Departments

Background: Early identification of sepsis continues to be a challenge for nurses in the acute care setting. Often, a gap exists between existing policies for sepsis identification and structured education to support these policies. Method: Using quantitative methodology and descriptive correlational design, this project explored the differences between emergency department nurses who received education on the early identification and treatment of sepsis and emergency department nurses who did not receive this education. Results: Descriptive statistics and independent t test were used to analyze and compare data between the control and implementation group. The p value was .018, which was statistically significant. The mean time to identify sepsis was decreased by 33 minutes. Conclusion: Using a sepsis standing order set combined with education helped to identify and elevate the care of sepsis patients. Resources such as the Surviving Sepsis Campaign screening tool to identify sepsis helped emergency department nurses to identify sepsis in a timely manner.