260 Medico-legal Update, October-December 2021, Vol.21, No. 4 Effect of the National Early Warning Score Education Program on Nurses’ Knowledge at an Emergency Hospital Mohamed Naeem Badr 1 , Nahla Shaaban Khalil 2 , Ahmed Mohamed Mukhtar 3 1 Assistant lecturer of Critical care & Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, 2 Professor of Critical care & Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, 3 Professor of Anesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University Abstract Aims and Objectives: To determine the effect of a designed program about the National Early Warning Score on nurses’ knowledge at an emergency hospital. Background: The Early Warning Score has been developed as a tool for early detection of patients’ deterioration. However, its implementation has not been optimal due to the lack of knowledge and understanding of EWS among staff nurses. Design: Pre-test/post- test quasi-experimental research design. Methods: A convenient sample of 34 nursing staff working at the inpatient unit at an emergency hospital was included in the education program. Results: The current fndings revealed that all nurses (100 %) (34) had an unsatisfactory knowledge level pre-educational program. While nurses’ knowledge level post-educational program showed, most of them (97.1 %) (33) had a satisfactory knowledge level. And there was a highly signifcant statistical difference between pre-test and post-test of knowledge (p <0.001). Moreover, nearly half of the nurses (50.2 %) answered knowledge questions incorrectly pre-educational program, while post-educational program, the majority of them (91.6%) answered knowledge questions correctly. Conclusion: After implementing an educational program regarding National Early Warning Score, The emergency care nurses’ knowledge was markedly improved. Keywords: Early Warning Scores, education, knowledge, nursing. Introduction Patient safety is a prime concern for healthcare professionals. Changes in the patient’s physical condition result in hemodynamic instability as the critical bodily functions start to fail [1] and may be detected by observing and recording the patient’s physiological vital signs [2] Early detection of deterioration in patients requires accurate and timely documentation of vital signs, interpretation of fndings, and acting quickly and appropriately [3-4] which cannot occur without continuous education [5] Early warning systems were developed to improve the assessment and documentation of vital signs in the hospital setting by introducing a unifed, standardized concept on a national basis. This concept was called the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) [6] . Many hospitals are now using early warning scoring systems as objective methods to identify patient deterioration and ensure timely care. It also provides a standardized observation system and continuity of patient care between wards [7] . Which in turn, particular attention can be seen early by a specialized team, reducing the potential risk for adverse events [8] . Nurses are often in frontline positions and are challenged by complex clinical situations requiring skillful application of knowledge for decision- making and recognizing signs of patient deterioration. Appropriate action limits serious adverse events (SAEs) Corresponding author: Mohamed Naeem Badr Email : mohamed.badr2002@gmail.com