Poster4 - 02: DEVELOPING A TEACHING TOOL FOR PEDIATRIC SURGICAL NURSES: A NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Elizabeth A Bowdish, MD, MA1, Arlene Brown, RN1, Mary Catherine Santos, MD2, Maura Sullivan, PhD, MSN3; 1Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, 2Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health, 3Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California
Introduction: Educational opportunities are paramount in helping nurses take care of pediatric surgery patients. There is a gap in our knowledge in how confident pediatric surgery nurses feel in taking care of pediatric surgery patients and in how they view the effectiveness of the educational opportunities offered to them.
Objectives: Develop a survey instrument to identify gaps in nursing knowledge related to pediatric surgery topics and to assess nursing perceptions of the adequacy of the education offered by their institution.
Methods: Cross-sectional survey of all floor pediatric nurses at one children's hospital. The survey was developed and piloted with the aid of a qualitative researcher and nurse educators. Respondents were asked to rate their level of confidence in taking care of patients with certain pediatric surgery conditions. Satisfaction with available educational opportunities was also assessed.
Results: 54% (n=69) response rate. Table 1 shows respondents levels of confidence in taking care of patients with pediatric surgical conditions.
| Very confident | Moderately confident | Somewhat confident | Not confident | |
| Pyloric stenosis | 57% | 26% | 12% | 5% |
| Appendicitis | 81% | 9% | 3% | 7% |
| Intussusception | 45% | 30% | 16% | 9% |
| Chest tube management | 17% | 26% | 31% | 26% |
| Care of premature surgical patient | 16% | 31% | 31% | 22% |
| Burn/wound care | 26% | 40% | 21% | 12% |
| Short bowel/dumping syndrome | 41% | 31% | 17% | 10% |
98% of respondents feel educational resources would be helpful for them to improve their understanding of pediatric surgery. Only 29% of nurses use the current educational platform offered by the institution and most feel it to be only somewhat or mostly inadequate.
Conclusion: Many nurses do not feel confident in taking care of pediatric surgery patients. We aim to use our data to guide development of a new teaching tool for our pediatric nurses.