A Survey of nurses' beliefs about the medical emergency team system in a Canadian tertiary hospital

Abstract

Background: Nurses are the primary activators of the medical emergency team (MET). Although the MET system can empower nurses to seek help in managing acutely ill patients, few data on nurses' beliefs about the system are available. Objective: To evaluate nurses' beliefs and behaviors about the MET system. Methods: Nurses from a large academic hospital in Canada were surveyed (2 demography-related questions and 17 Likert-scale questions). Results: Of 614 nurses employed on units participating in the MET system, 293 (47.7%) were approached and 275 completed the survey (response rate, 93.9%). Most respondents (84.2%) believed that the MET could prevent cardiopulmonary arrest in acutely ill pat..