Using the Delphi technique and critical decisions method to derive nursing student training requirements for sepsis detection in adult patients

At least 1.7 million adults in the U.S. develop sepsis each year, and there exists no widespread training programs for early recognition of infections for sepsis risk reduction. To address this gap, this study focused on triangulating the training and educational requirements to develop simulation-based tools for a novel sepsis curriculum for nursing students. A concurrent two-phase mixed-methods triangulation study was conducted. In phase 1, critical decisions method (CDM) interviews were used to model key sepsis recognition decisions and processes which informed realistic scenarios for simulation training. In phase 2, a Delphi study was conducted with sepsis leaders to systematically gain consensus on training requirements, specifically the mode of training and content of a curriculum for early sepsis recognition.