Evaluation of a fetal monitoring education program.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of a fetal monitoring education program in increasing nurses' knowledge and clinical skills.


METHODS
Multicenter randomized control trial.


METHODS
Twelve hospitals in eastern Ontario, Canada.


METHODS
One hundred nine volunteer registered nurses randomly assigned, within each hospital, to an experimental (n = 47) or control (n = 62) group. Ninety-six nurses (40 in the experimental group and 56 in the control group) completed the 6-month follow-up (88% retention).


METHODS
The experimental group participated in a 1-day fetal monitoring workshop and a review session 6 months later.


METHODS
Performance on a 45-item knowledge test and a 25-item skills checklist. The passing score was at least 75% correct on each test.


RESULTS
The percentage of nurses in the experimental group passing both the knowledge and the clinical skills tests after the workshop was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than that of the nurses in the control group: 68.1% versus 6.5%, respectively. A large difference between the groups remained at the 6-month follow-up (experimental, 45%; control, 6.5%). The performance of the nurses in the experimental group improved to an 85% pass rate after they attended the 6-month review session.


CONCLUSIONS
This comprehensive, research-based program is effective in increasing fetal monitoring knowledge and clinical skills.
Trépanier
M J
MJ
Perinatal Education Program of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada.
Niday
P
P
Davies
B
B
Sprague
A
A
Nimrod
C
C
Dulberg
C
C
Watters
N
N
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D009864:Ontario; D011247:Pregnancy; D015397:Program Evaluation