Preparing Neonatal Nurses for Improved Performance, Professional Development, and National Certification Through Simulation

Abstract

Background: Code and emergent situations require skilled nursing response wherever they occur. Nurse preparation for code response is an ongoing need in nursing education. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, Texas, has a team of 3 nurse educators. These educators determined the need for increased nurse confidence, skill, and response in code and emergent situations within the NICU. The education team also recognized the need to increase nurse involvement in professional development activities and preparation for the national certification examination. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe how a NICU education team, in a level III NICU, trained nurses using simulated scenarios to improve nursing knowledge for national certification, skill, and confidence in code situations and to provide ongoing professional development opportunities within a controlled learning environment. Methods: The intervention designed to meet these specific goals for the NICU was the creation of a simulation team (called the "Drill Team") to facilitate simulated activities created by the NICU education team. This simulation strategy was found to have multiple advantages for content delivery, as multiple learning styles can be incorporated into the simulated activities. Findings: Nurses demonstrated improved performance, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge retention after the Drill Team project. Nursing confidence in code performance also increased using this intervention. Implications for Practice: This educational intervention can be replicated and utilized in nursing education for all specialties. Implications for Research: Further research could be conducted to determine the effectiveness of simulated activities and national certification pass rates.

Educational Program of Nurses Practices Towards to Phototherapy at Neonatal Care Units

“…As for the ages of the sample participating in the study, it was (30.43), that is, they are the youth category and there was a clear effect regarding the educational level, This study similar with others study in Iraq (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) , who found this male more than female and mean age between (28-31 years).Comparison between (Pre test study) and (Pre test control), comparison between (Post1 test study) and (Post1 test control) and comparison between (Post2 test study) and (Post2 test control).There are no significant differences between (Pre test study) and (Pre test control) , there are significant differences between (Post1 test study) and (Post1 test control) and there are significant differences between (Pos2 test study) and (Pos2 test control) . The study sample before starting the program did not have any information related to the practical aspect of phototherapy, but when giving the program and after the second test, the results were clearly shown, there are very significant significant differences 12 .…”