Evaluation of nursing students' knowledge on port catheter implementation

In port catheter implementations commonly used in oncology patients, nurses are primarily responsible for the care of catheter, and a well-planned and systematic management is essential. Objective: This study has been designed to be descriptive in order to assess the knowledge level of nursing students on port catheter implementations. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out with 248 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students of a private university's nursing school located on the European side of Istanbul. Data were collected using a questionnaire; permission of the institution and the approval of the ethics committee were taken. Questionnaires were evaluated using SPSS 16.0 software. Results: It was found that the Evaluation Form for Knowledge Level on Port Catheter Implementation scores varied between 1 and 26, with the knowledge form average score of 15.49 ± 5.722. The Evaluation Form for Knowledge Level on Port Catheter Implementation scores were found to be statistically significant in terms of seniority at university, type of high school the students graduated from, whether they voluntarily opted for the nursing profession, the students' academic success, the students' knowledge on port catheter implementations, and their awareness on the responsibilities of nurses on port catheter implementations. Conclusion: Some recommendations were made on improving students' knowledge and practices about port catheter in the course of nursing education, carrying out clinical practices with port catheter, and drawing guidelines from these recommendations. Key Words: Port catheter, knowledge level, catheter implementation, nursing students, treatment process