Mid-career nurses' frontal lobe activation in predicting medical hazards

--- A comparison with new nurses

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare and examine the activation of the frontal lobe of mid-level nurses and novice nurses when they viewed dangerous scenes based on cerebral blood flow.

Method: The change in cerebral blood flow when viewing potential risks was measured using two-channel near-infrared spectroscopy. The tasks used to activate the frontal lobe were two scenes that included everyday and medical potential risks.

Results: The results of measuring the change in blood flow in the frontal lobe showed that the average change in the daily scenes of novice nurses was 0.08 mMmm on the left and 0.05 mMmm on the right. In medical settings, the mean change was -0.15 on the left and -0.73 on the right. For mid-level nurses, the mean change in daily settings was 0.01 on the left and 0.22 on the right. In medical settings, the mean change was 0.30 on the left and -0.02 on the right. The mean change between novice and mid-level nurses was compared using the Mann–Whitney U test. As a result, no significant difference was observed in daily settings. However, in medical settings, the mean change was found to be increased in cerebral blood volume in the left frontal lobe of mid-level nurses, with p=0.03 (p< .05).

Conclusion: A significant increase in cerebral blood volume in the left frontal lobe of mid-level nurses was observed when viewing medical settings that included potential risks.