Enhancing Pediatric Nurses' Competence in Infant Care and Parental Guidance Through Educational Interventions

Abstract

Background: Inpatient pediatric nurses often receive limited formal education on pediatric health promotion, as undergraduate curricula prioritize adult/geriatric content, and continuing education emphasizes acute care management. These gaps leave nurses underprepared to deliver developmentally appropriate guidance to parents, despite the importance of bedside education in improving pediatric outcomes. At Tucson Medical Center (TMC), the combined pediatric/pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) experienced high nurse turnover in 2024-2025, with most new hires during that time being recent graduates or transfers from adult care. Stakeholder feedback highlighted gaps in foundational knowledge and hesitancy in providing parent education, particularly for infants. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate whether a structured, evidence-based educational session on newborn and infant care could enhance inpatient pediatric nurses’ self-perceived competence in infant health promotion and increase their intent to integrate education into bedside practice. Methods: A 55-minute educational session, titled “Diapers, Diet, and Development: Infant Care 101,” was delivered to nursing and support staff. Pre- and post-intervention surveys measured nurses’ self-perceived competency, knowledge, willingness to provide bedside education, perceived relevance of the content, and intent to implement the content in their practice. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and measures of central tendency, while qualitative data were reviewed for thematic insights. Results: 18 pre-survey answers and 11 post-survey answers were analyzed (n=11). Nurses demonstrated a 26% improvement in their self-perceived competency in infant care topics after the intervention. Most participants (91%) rated the content as highly relevant, and all expressed intent to apply the information in practice. Qualitative feedback highlighted the value of nonacute pediatric education and identified future topics of interest, including guidance on breastfeeding, pain management, and vaccine education. Conclusion: This intervention enhanced nurses’ self-perceived competence and motivation to provide health promotion education at the bedside. Findings support the incorporation of pediatric health promotion into unit-based continuing education and onboarding, with future research needed on the long-term impact, broader implementation, and parent perspectives.