Provider Education on Ketamine Effects and Administration Guidelines in an Outpatient Clinic

Abstract

Purpose: Increase provider knowledge of the risks and benefits of using ketamine, increase provider understanding of racemic ketamine’s mechanism of action, increase provider comfort educating patients about ketamine, and improve provider comfort during administration of ketamine in an outpatient clinic.Background: Racemic ketamine, used off-label for psychiatric purposes, is a novel treatment and has demonstrated a significant reduction in both treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation. No formal guidelines exist for its administration in mental health clinics, and many providers lack the knowledge to adequately prescribe, administer, and educate patients regarding its risks and benefits. Methods: A quality improvement project that recruited three PMHNPs to watch a 30-minute asynchronous recorded presentation and participate in a pre-and post-survey self-assessing their ketamine understanding, confidence in patient education, and comfort during administration. A pre- and post-10-question multiple choice and true/false knowledge tests were administered to assess learning. Results: Three PMHNPs watched the presentation and completed the surveys/tests. All providers self-reported a change in their understanding of ketamine’s risks/benefits, their confidence in educating patients about its effects, and their comfort with administration. The domain with the highest self-reported improvement was patient education. Provider knowledge test scores increased by 36.7% from pre-intervention to post-intervention. None of the changes were deemed statistically significant. Conclusions: Post-intervention survey demonstrated a self-reported increase across all project purpose domains, with the highest change noted in the domain of patient education. The post-knowledge test score yielded a 36.7% increase.