Nursing competency is described as the ability to apply professional knowledge, skills and attitude to new
situations successfully. Competencies manage the gap between education and practice to ensure the delivery of
high-quality nursing care. Aim: This study was aimed to improve nurses' competency level regarding care of
children undergoing intestinal obstruction surgery after implementation the educational program. Research
design: A quasi-experimental design was utilized in the current study. Setting: This study was conducted in
neonatal and pediatric surgical units at Specialized Pediatric Hospital in Benha City. Subjects: A convenient
sample of (50) nurses and a purposive sample of 50 children were selected from the above mentioned setting. Tools
of data collection: Three tools were used: tool (1) A Structured interview questionnaire sheet, tool (2) nurse
competence scale and tool (3) quality of nursing care Likert scale. Results: More than two thirds (68%) of the
studied nurses had poor level of competency pre-program while, the vast majority (92.0%) of them had good level
of competency post-program. Majority (86%) of them had high frequency level of performed skills in clinical
practice and the vast majority (94%) of them had high level of quality of nursing care post-program. Conclusion:
The educational program was effective in improving nurses' competency level, their frequency of performed skills
in clinical practice and their quality of nursing care regarding children undergoing intestinal obstruction surgery.
Recommendation: Provision of continuing education programs in order to update nurses' knowledge and enhance
their competency level regarding care of children undergoing intestinal obstruction surgery. |
