RADIOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION BY NURSE PRACTITIONERS IN A MINOR INJURIES UNIT

Objective-To compare nurse practitioners with senior house officers (S HOs) for their ability to request and interpret correctly a limited ra nge of x ray views of patients attending a minor injuries unit. Design -Retrospective analysis of case records. Methods-150 accident and emer gency (A&E) records with x ray requests were randomly selected from th e SHOs' first, second, and third 2-month period of their 6-month appoi ntments; 150 record cards were randomly selected from a nearby minor i njuries unit over the same period. Copies of the records were reviewed blind and a decision made as to whether x ray requests were appropria te; x ray interpretation was compared with that of a consultant radiol ogist. Results-106 x rays were taken on the MIU patients (71%) and 124 on the A&E patients (83%). There was no statistically significant dif ferences in the ability of the nurse practitioners and the SHOs to req uest and interpret appropriate x rays. In both groups the decision to carry out an x ray was considered appropriate in 70% of patients; x ra ys were positive in about one third. The sensitivity of radiological i nterpretation was 93% in both groups, and there were 2% missed positiv es. Conclusions-Appropriately trained nursae practitioners are at leas t as good as SHOs in recognising the need for an x ray and are as comp etent in their interpretation.