Abstract
The purpose of this study was to use the Delphi technique to determine the first draft of national standards for neonatal intensive care nursing (NICN) education. The Australian College of Neonatal Nurses (ACNN) endorsed the project and assisted in the selection of members for a panel of 13 NICN and education experts from all Australian states that conducted NICN education programmes. These experts were consulted over a period of seven months using the Delphi technique. The researcher initially developed a set of questions to guide the expert panel. Over a series of three iterations and using a consensus level of 75% agreement, most standards were agreed to. Areas addressed were programme requirements, prerequisite requirements, programme leadership, theoretical programme structure and content, clinical education programme structure and content and educator support. Subsequent work will finalise the standards for publication and subsequent use by NICN educators and clinicians across Australia. Throughout this paper, the terms 'neonatal intensive care nursing' and 'neonatal nursing' are used. The use of the word 'nursing' in these phrases refers to the provision of care to the infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Both nurses and midwives provide this care.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 25-36 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Neonatal, Paediatric and Child Health Nursing |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2011 |
Keywords
- Delphi
- Education
- Neonatal nursing
- Standards