Perinatal nursing education for single-room maternity care: an evaluation of a competency-based model.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the success of a competency-based nursing orientation programme for a single-room maternity care unit by measuring improvement in self-reported competency after six months.


BACKGROUND
Single-room maternity care has challenged obstetrical nurses to provide comprehensive nursing care during all phases of the in-hospital birth experience. In this model, nurses provide intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care in one room. To date, an evaluation of nursing education for single-room maternity care has not been published.


METHODS
A prospective cohort design comparing self-reported competencies prior to starting work in the single-room maternity care and six months after.


METHODS
Nurses completed a competency-based education programme in which they could select from a menu of learning methods and content areas according to their individual needs. Learning methods included classroom lectures, self-paced learning packages, and preceptorships in the clinical area. Competencies were measured by a standardized perinatal self-efficacy tool and a tool developed by the authors for this study, the Single-Room Maternity Care Competency Tool. A paired analysis was undertaken to take into account the paired (before and after) nature of the design.


RESULTS
Scores on the perinatal self-efficacy scale and the single-room maternity care competency tool were improved. These differences were statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvements in perinatal and single-room maternity care-specific competencies suggest that our education programme was successful in preparing nurses for their new role in the single-room maternity care setting. This conclusion is supported by reported increases in nursing and patient satisfaction in the single-room maternity care compared with the traditional labour/delivery and postpartum settings.


CONCLUSIONS
An education programme tailored to the learning needs of experienced clinical nurses contributes to improvements in nursing competencies and patient care.
Janssen
Patricia A
PA
Department of Family Practice and Health Care, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. pjanssen@interchange.ubc.ca
Keen
Lois
L
Soolsma
Jetty
J
Seymour
Laurie C
LC
Harris
Susan J
SJ
Klein
Michael C
MC
Reime
Birgit
B
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001955:British Columbia; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003162:Competency-Based Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D016389:Maternal-Child Nursing / Q000193:education*; D017145:Models, Educational; D016294:Models, Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000458:organization & administration; D011321:Primary Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012386:Rooming-in Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D020377:Self Efficacy