Setting the Stage: Innovation in Port Access Education for Pediatric Emergency Nurses

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Nursing Education
• Medical Simulation

Background:

• Pediatric port access in emergency departments presents unique challenges.
• Traditional training lacks pediatric-specific situational and emotional elements.
• A novel simulation curriculum was developed to address these gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the knowledge and self-efficacy gains in nurses after participating in a simulation curriculum.
• To assess the effectiveness of a curriculum integrating situational dialogue and sterile port access technique.
• To determine the impact of a wearable port trainer on simulation fidelity.

Main Methods:

• An educational intervention impact study utilized a curriculum with didactic sessions and simulation.
• A wearable port trainer was used with a standardized patient and an actor portraying a distressed parent.
• Pre- and post-intervention surveys, including a 3-month follow-up, were administered.

Main Results:

• Thirty-four pediatric emergency nurses showed increased knowledge and self-efficacy in port access.
• These improvements were sustained at the 3-month follow-up.
• Participants provided positive feedback on the simulation experience.

Conclusions:

• Effective pediatric port access education requires integrating procedural skills with situational techniques.
• The developed curriculum successfully combined practical skills with situational management.
• The program enhanced nursing self-efficacy and competence in pediatric port access.