Accuracy and Competence in Drawing an Family Pedigree among College Nursing Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore nursing students' competence in drawing an accurate family pedigree.Methods: Thirty nine Korean college senior nursing students (average age, 22.3 years; range, 21~30 years) participated in this study. Data were collected from September to November 2014. After obtaining permission from the participants, each participants constructed pedigree based on their own family history and they were interviewed about their competence in drawing a family pedigree as a group. Each session for group interview was audio-taped and transcribed. The pedigrees were evaluated for its accuracy. The responses of participants were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results:The main themes of the sessions were "unequal opportunities in learning about a family pedigree," "feeling competent in drawing a family pedigree," "having difficulty with drawing a family pedigree," and "knowing the family history incompletely." Although most of the participants perceived the importance of family pedigree positively, some of them stated that they are not comfortable drawing pedigree because they did not know the details and did not have a chance to practice it repeatedly. Moreover, participants hoped to learn more how to draw a family pedigree. Conclusion:The education on family pedigree should be reenforced to increase nursing students' competence in drawing an accurate pedigree for themselves and clients. In addition, the educators should consider individual differences.