Innovative Strategies for 21st Century Perinatal Nursing Education

Abstract

The birthrate in the United States has been steady for the past few years with childbearing women being older, less likely to be married, better educated, and more likely to be an immigrant than were childbearing women of their mothers' generation. Women giving birth in the United States today are increasingly likely to experience a cesarean birth and/or an induction of labor. These changes in the demographic and experience of childbearing women occur at the same time that the learning style of nursing students is also changing. As a result nurse educators have developed new teaching strategies to prepare students to provide culturally competent and technically sound care, while acting as team members for women having babies in the United States. Techniques such as simulation are discussed as are alternative clinical education placements in community settings.

Educational Intervention for an Evidence-Based Nursing Practice of Skin-to-Skin Contact at Birth

“…Our results, which are similar to previous research and clinical projects that used various teaching/ learning methods (Brimdyr et al, 2012;Dabrowski, 2007;Haxton et al, 2012), confirm the effectiveness of an active-learning approach for the implementation of an evidence-based practice. Active teaching/learning methods are consistent with recent recommendations in perinatal education because they promote the development of multiple skills required to meet the increasingly complex needs of families (Simonelli & Gennaro, 2012). Finally, the combination of educational sessions with information supplements may also have contributed to the transfer of knowledge and improvement of the clinical practice, such as reported by previous research and clinical projects (Brimdyr et al, 2012;Dabrowski, 2007;Smith et al, 2012).…”