How to Keep Your aEEG Skills Fresh
Do you ever feel like you are always starting over when it comes to your aEEG skills?
In this week's blog I'll be sharing my five favorite ways to keep your aEEG (Amplitude Integrated EEG) skills fresh. Finding ways to keep up with them on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis can be simple but you have to make a plan.
So, let's dive into the five strategies for keeping your aEEG skills sharp.
1. Use it frequently
The most important aspect of preserving your aEEG skills is to use the monitor frequently. This may seem obvious, but it's often overlooked in the NICU setting. If your aEEG machines are sitting in a closet, unused, no one will remember how to place the electrodes successfully, document the background pattern in your EMR, or interpret the waveforms.
As our confidence drops, we use aEEG less and the tool become useless.
To prevent this, broaden the scope of use in your NICU (are you using it on preemies yet??) and empower the nurses in your NICU to request aEEG monitoring as part of their day-to-day practice. Underutilizing your aEEG machine will undoubtedly lead to skill decay, so prioritize regular usage.
2. Include aEEG in daily rounds
Make aEEG an integral part of daily rounds and emphasize what the aEEG pattern is adding to the care of each patient you're monitoring. If aEEG monitoring isn't adding value, consider discontinuing it. However, if aEEG is contributing valuable information, discuss it in rounds and ensure the team feels confident interpreting the aEEG pattern.
Some hospitals even dedicate a specific day of the week to reviewing all aEEG recordings from the previous week or month. This practice facilitates collective learning and helps maintain aEEG skills. You can also establish a routine where your Neuro NICU team examines all the aEEG recordings at a designated time each day. By incorporating aEEG into daily discussions and routines, you keep the skills fresh and relevant.
3. Attend workshops and conferences
Don't miss out on opportunities to learn from others and improve your aEEG skills. Attend workshops and conferences where you can engage with experts, explore interesting cases, and share knowledge. Even though aEEG is gaining popularity, it's not universally adopted. By connecting with professionals who actively use aEEG and finding value in their experiences, you'll be motivated to enhance your own skills. Stay updated with the latest research and evidence-based practices related to aEEG by attending relevant events whenever possible.
4. Share aEEG knowledge through unit contests and email case reviews.
Keep your team engaged by sending out aEEG-related emails. Create a "Case of the Week" or "Case of the Month" initiative, where you share a case for discussion and encourage comments and replies. You can even organize contests to make it more interactive. These initiatives serve as effective ways to keep aEEG patterns, both normal and abnormal, top of mind. When they encounter similar patterns at the bedside, they'll be better equipped to interpret and respond appropriately. Running a contest for those who reply back with their interpretation of the emailed aEEG can keep learning fun, and encourage participation from your entire team.
5. Utilize available resources and courses
Lastly, make use of available resources and educational opportunities to strengthen your aEEG skills. Synapse Care Solutions offers a comprehensive aEEG Mastery course that has been successfully educating clinicians worldwide for over 10 years. By enrolling in such courses, teams and individuals can enhance their confidence and competence in using aEEG in the NICU.
Additionally, make sure to explore other resources, such as Synapse's free e-book "Seven Steps to Read Any Neonatal aEEG".
I hope you enjoyed this quick review of my top five strategies for keeping your aEEG skills fresh.
Remember, regular use of your aEEG monitors, discussion during rounds attending workshops and conferences, sharing knowledge through emails, and utilizing available resources are key to maintaining your aEEG skills.
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