Nurses' Knowledge of and Confidence in Perioperative Skills for Emergency Cesarean Birth.

OBJECTIVE

To assess if nurses' perioperative knowledge of and confidence in perioperative skills for emergency cesarean birth improved after didactic learning and high-fidelity simulation.

DESIGN

Descriptive, one-group pretest and posttest design.

SETTING/LOCAL PROBLEM: Level 3 labor and birth unit that averages 3,000 births per year. At the site, there were no current evidence-based programs specifically focused on perioperative skills sustainment of the maternity nursing professional.

PARTICIPANTS

Registered nurses on a labor and birth unit with at least 1 year of experience completed an online educational course and simulation activity.

INTERVENTIONS/MEASUREMENTS: Participants were given pretests and posttests to assess knowledge and confidence in emergency cesarean birth perioperative skills. Observations of nurses' pretest and posttest interventions in cesarean births were made to assess changes in competency. Chart reviews were completed to assess changes in decision-to-incision time before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

Nurses reported greater confidence and knowledge during emergency cesarean birth after participating in the interventions. Other results included decreased decision-to-incision times. None of these results held statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

This project highlights the need for evidence-based, standardized perioperative maternity education across labor and birth nursing practice.