Evaluation of nursing awareness on preanalytic process in clinical laboratory

Objective: The aim of this analysis is to evaluate the errors that may occur in the pre-analytical phase which is defined as the pre-preanalytic phase, with the people involved in the pre-preanalytic phase and create an awareness. Method: A seventeen-question questionnaire was prepared. The questionnaires were filled with face-to-face method by nurses working in inpatient units of the hospital. A total of 141 nurses, 36 surgical clinical nurses, 34 internal clinical nurses, 40 intensive care nurses, 31 emergency service nurses participated in the survey. Results: Different responses were obtained according to the clinic in which blood was taken from the heparin-cleaned catheter. The question of the use of blue-cap tubes for coagulation tests was answered as different by young people and those with little professional experience (p=0,020 ve 0,027). The question of the red cap use for erythrocyte sedimentation rate was answered by choosing the wrong option at a higher rate than those with short professional experience. The question of whether blood potassium and calcium values will be changed by taking blood into the tube with potassium EDTA has been answered wrongly by more than 40% in surgical, intensive care and emergency units. There was also a significant difference in response to the question about 24-hour urine collection depending on the study experience and the age of the participant. Conclusion: Apart from the answers given to our questionnaire questions, it has been determined that there are many topics that need to be discussed between clinical laboratories and nursing professions. It was understood that periodic meetings should be planned in order to ensure continuous communication with clinics. Key Words: Preanalytıcal error, Nursing awareness, Labaratory Errors Questionnaire