Issues in pediatric nursing and research education.

Generations X, Y, and Z

This study aimed to examine the current status and key challenges of pediatric nursing clinical education in South Korea and to provide strategic directions for quality improvement based on competency-based learning outcomes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 89 pediatric nursing faculty members working at various universities nationwide between February and July 2024. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative responses were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Practicum objectives primarily focused on inpatient care (98.9%) and core nursing skills (83.1%), while communication and problem-solving (22.4%) and ethics (21.3%) were underrepresented. Although high-fidelity simulation use reached 33.7%, interactive tools such as virtual reality (17.9%) and nursing process evaluations (7.8%) remained underutilized. Six themes emerged from the analysis of faculty perspectives on enhancing clinical practicum education: structural barriers in securing sites, inconsistent learning environments, overcrowding, limitations of observation-only learning, regulatory constraints, and excessive faculty burden. This study proposes establishing standardized clinical protocols, expanding hybrid simulation-based models to compensate for shrinking clinical sites, and institutionalizing industry-academic cooperative frameworks to ensure the quality and equity of pediatric nursing education. These approaches are essential to enhancing the quality and equity of pediatric clinical nursing education in Korea.

Augmenting pediatric nursing clinical education with low-cost simulations.

Oral health is integral to general health and essential for well-being, and therefore, should be prioritized in pediatric nursing education. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine if an oral health education intervention with an Interprofessional Education (IPE) component delivered to third-year baccalaureate nursing students would improve their knowledge of pediatric oral health care. Nursing students (n=99) from a Bachelor of Nursing program in a mid-Western Canadian university completed a survey before and after receiving the educational intervention which included a two-hour lecture from a Dentistry faculty member and a one-hour clinical lab in which nursing students learned how to conduct a comprehensive oral health assessment in practice. Paired-sample t-tests were conducted to compare pre-and post-intervention survey scores. Findings indicate a statistically significant (p < .001) increase in knowledge from pre-test (67%) to post-test (86%) and contribute to a new understanding of the importance of pediatric oral health care in nursing education. The outcome of this intervention is that registered nurses can be prepared with the knowledge necessary to address the disparate oral health challenges experienced by children globally. These findings will provide the foundation for the refinement and implementation of the educational intervention on an international, multi-site scale.

Simulation-based learning is increasingly being integrated into pediatric nursing education for students as well as novice nurses in practice. Various levels of technology in simulation provide for a range of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills acquisition within the controlled setting provided by this teaching strategy. This article provides an overview of simulation, the emergence of simulation in nursing education with an emphasis on pediatric nursing, a description of one baccalaureate program's experience in developing a state-of-the-art maternal child-simulation skills laboratory, and the role of simulation-based learning in continuing education.

Virtual Simulation Education Using Multiuser Virtual Environments and Standardized Patients for Child Healthcare in the Community Setting: A Multisite Pilot Study

In North America, dental disease is the leading pediatric chronic illness. Poor oral health influences a child’s ability to speak, eat, and socialize and has been linked with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Despite overwhelming evidence that poor oral health can have lifelong and systemic influences on overall well-being, comprehensive oral health care has not been emphasized in nursing education. The purpose of this study was to explore third-year nursing students’ perceptions and experiences with pediatric oral health nursing education through an interpretive description approach. Data for analysis gathered in focus group interviews resulted in three main themes: nursing education is key: recognition of and insight into the value of oral health care; fading away: barriers to education and practice; and spreading the culture: improving nursing education and practice. The findings highlight a predominant culture in nursing education and practice in which knowledge and skill acquisition related to pediatric oral health is being neglected. Consequently, nursing students experience limited development of the basic knowledge, skills, and resources to adequately care for infants, children, and adolescents in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Effective strategies to improve nursing education include early integration of oral health concepts, demonstration and hands-on preparation of oral health care practices and assessment, and interprofessional oral health education.

Pediatric nursing in the United Kingdom.

The evidence-based practice profiles of academic and clinical staff involved in pre-registration nursing students' education: A cross sectional survey of US and UK staff

Objective To explore the clinical teaching effects of virtual scenario simulation combined with PBL teaching method in pediatric nursing teaching. Methods A total of 60 intership nurses in pediatric department from May to December 2015 were analyzed and they were randomly divided into control group and experimental group. Nurses in the control group were taught by conventional pediatric nursing method, while the experimental group nurses by the method of virtual scenario simulation combined with PBL teaching method. After the teaching, evaluation and self-evaluation of the theory and health education abilities between the two groups were compared. Results The scores of theoretical achievement, psychological experience and social experience in experimental group were significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05); the scores of learning motivation, abilities of autonomous learning, negative pressure, communication and the ability of winning patients′ trust in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions Using the virtual scenario simulation combined with PBL teaching method in pediatric nursing teaching can improve the intership nurses′ learning motivation and autonomous learning ability, which is worthy of clinical promotion. Key words: Pediatric nursing; Virtual scenario simulation; PBL; Conventional teaching; Teaching effect

Determining pediatric nurses' anxiety levels, concerns, and metaphor perceptions towards artificial intelligence technologies: A mixed-method study.

The internet, which provides the access, share and communication information of people worldwide and is regarded as a revolution, has an increasingly important role in health education, research and applications. Health professionals search for new ways to facilitate and improve the provision of effective health education to individuals and communities. The developments in computer and internet technologies and high priority of finance for nursing studies in technological terms lead researchers to develop, use and test different types of web-based initiatives. In addition, a large amount of quality evidence that shows the success of health education attempts carried out on the web draws the attention of health professionals responsible for providing health education. This study aims to analyze web-based health education and provide health professionals with a point of view regarding its use in pediatric nursing. Keywords: Web-based education; pediatric nursing; health education

Background: Breastfeeding is a modifiable health-related behavior widely recognized for its short-and long-term health benefits (Standish, 2022). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends breastfeeding for at least two years or as long as mutually desired (Meek, 2022). Despite this guidance, pediatric nurses outside of neonatal units often receive minimal breastfeeding education, creating a gap in care for breastfeeding families admitted to other areas of the hospital. This project aimed to assess the breastfeeding knowledge needs of pediatric nursing staff across two hospital campuses. A lack of standardized breastfeeding education was identified. To quantify this gap, a cross-sectional survey was distributed to pediatric staff across campuses. 347 responses were collected, revealing that 91% of respondents reported limited to no breastfeeding education, and 83% expressed a desire for more training and resources to support breastfeeding families. Implementation: 59% of respondence preferred in-person training over computer-based modules. Using this data, we plan to present a breastfeeding initiative and instructional strategy to our education team to advocate for a formalized program. Following implementation, we will re-survey both campuses to evaluate the impact of the education. Evaluation: Importantly, this initiative also seeks to address social determinants of health (SDOH) by recognizing that breastfeeding support is not equally accessible to all families (Standish, 2022). Access to culturally competent care can influence breastfeeding outcomes. By equipping nurses with inclusive, evidence-based education, we aim to reduce disparities and promote equitable breastfeeding support across diverse patient populations. The Surgeon General has emphasized the importance of increasing breastfeeding rates to improve community health outcomes, and hospital staff play a critical role in achieving this goal (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Recognizing the influence of hospital staff in achieving this goal, investing in breastfeeding education for pediatric nurses empowers them to support families and sustain community health improvements long after discharge.

Introduction: Increased human health concerns related to the natural environment and climate change are having a growing impact on nursing practice. This past year in Canada, for example, British Columbia reported the highest number of heat related deaths, followed by devastating forest fires in many provinces that have disproportionately impacted Indigenous Peoples. Nurses are well positioned to address the direct health impacts associated with climate change. As a result, nurses require an increased level of ecoliteracy to address the health impacts linked to climate change. The role of the nurse in addressing the health impacts of climate change are vast, ranging from direct patient care, education and advocacy, their role includes supporting individuals, communities, and populations to mitigate, adapt and build resiliency in the face of a changing climate. Background: Regulatory and professional associations support the professional emphasis on the significance of ecoliteracy yet there is insufficient understanding of the resistance to the content in nursing curricula. Although current literature supports an increased emphasis on the integration of ecosystem health concerns and the impact on human health within undergraduate nursing education, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding nursing educators’ perspectives on the subject. This study is a first step in gaining a greater understanding of the perspectives of nurse educators on ecoliteracy within undergraduate nursing education programs in one Canadian province. Methods: This qualitative research study included 13 nurse educators from three diverse academic settings. Data were collected using semi-structured, open-ended interview questions, followed by content analysis of the data. Results: Data analysis revealed five key themes: a) importance of ecoliteracy in undergraduate nursing programs; b) current integration of ecoliteracy concepts in curricula; c) future considerations for ecoliteracy content; d) barriers to the inclusion of content supportive of ecoliteracy in curricula; e) strategies to address barriers. While educators feel that ecoliteracy is important in undergraduate nursing, they noted that the current integration of climate content in the curriculum is uneven. Barriers and potential strategies to integrating this content are identified. Conclusion: The findings of this study can be used for curriculum revision and to stimulate innovation and research in nursing education. This study creates the opportunity for a larger scale replication study, pilot studies of the integration of concepts that would support ecoliteracy, and further research on the topic. This study identified that many complexities are involved in achieving ecoliteracy in nursing education and suggest that while threading of content can address the urgent need, further research is required to identify entry to practice requirements for undergraduate nursing programs.

Nurse educators’ teaching of codes of ethics