Date of Conferral
2-21-2025
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Cynthia Fletcher
Abstract
This quality improvement staff education project was developed to address a gap in practice related to family-centered communication in the project facility. New nurses are often unaware of the impact of family-centered communication when caring for pediatric patients. The lack of preparation for basic nursing tasks after graduation may be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and loss of clinical time related to hospitals ceasing school rotations for clinical training. This impacts new nurses’ preparation for the duties and responsibilities of a licensed registered nurse in a pediatric hospital. This education program aimed to increase nurses’ knowledge about evidence-based family-centered communication strategies to interact competently with patients and their families. Sixteen newly licensed registered nurses completed the pretest before participating in the education program and a posttest after the program. The data from the tests were analyzed for descriptive statistics and t tests using the Microsoft Excel Statistical Analysis program. The pretest mean was 45, the posttest mean was 68, and the p was less than .001. The results of this study have positive implications for nurses, patients, and the facility. There was an increase in the nurses’ understanding of a family-centered care approach and how verbal and nonverbal cues are important when speaking to pediatric patients and their families. Increasing the nurses’ knowledge about how ethnocentrism and diversity, equity, and inclusion can affect communication with patients and families of different backgrounds, the nurse will be empowered to communicate effectively with patients and their families and mitigate the negative consequences of miscommunication. I recommend presenting this education program to all new nurses during the orientation program.
Recommended Citation
Arce, Diane, "Educating Nurses to Use Age-Appropriate Communication Strategies in a Pediatric Hospital" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17401.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17401
