Prof. Amaal Gharieb Sabbaq :: Publications:

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.