填补母乳喂养教育的空白
While engaged in her nursing clinicals at Women and Infants Hospital, 艾莉森 Meola remembers helplessly looking on while an anxious new mother struggled with breastfeeding.
Though her nursing courses at the School of 护理 at Rhode Island College had prepared her for many of the tasks she had assumed in the maternity unit of the hospital, 她没有接受过如何母乳喂养的培训.
"The new mom's nurse was busy with other patients and there were only two lactation consultants for the entire hospital,她说. "During the eight hours I was there, there was no one to help this mom."
This experience impelled Meola to propose an honors research project on breastfeeding education.
"I didn't want another student to ever have to be in the same situation I had been in,她说.
“A mother's decision to breastfeed is one of the most important decisions she will make physiologically for her child,米奥拉说。.
Yet "insufficient breastfeeding training in undergraduate nursing programs had left many future nurses unable to effectively assist mothers,她说.
With nurse midwife and Assistant Professor of 护理 Deborah Kutenplon as co-researcher on her project, 米拉申请了安妮号 & Bob DeStefano本科生研究奖学金 to purchase equipment for a three-hour training for all students enrolled in 护理 344: Maternal Newborn 护理.
Meola's goal was to make the training a standard practice on the first day of nursing clinicals. That way students would have this knowledge before they actually saw patients.
The training she led involved five Skills Stations. Students learned how to hold a baby; how to extract breastmilk manually; how to know when the baby has a deep latch onto the breast; the five most common struggles mothers have with breastfeeding; and frequently asked questions, ranging from the benefits of breastfeeding to how to store breast milk.
The students then practiced their newfound skills in a simulation in which an actress, wearing 乳房模拟器 and cradling the baby mannequin, 再现了一位陷入困境的母亲.
To assess their knowledge and confidence in teaching breastfeeding, Meola进行了一次前调查和后调查. 训练后16周, she tested the students again to find out how much information they had retained. 他们有74%的保留率.
“艾莉森是个聪明人, self-motivated student who identified a clinical need and developed a practical, 以证据为基础的培训来解决这个问题,她的导师库滕普隆说. "The training was so outstanding that RIC Maternal Newborn 护理 faculty will continue to use it after 艾莉森 graduates, equipping RIC students and future nurses with the knowledge and skills to promote successful breastfeeding.此外, 乳房模拟器, infant manniquin and other equipment she purchased for the training, 用她的研究奖学金, will remain in the School of 护理's simulation lab for use by future students.
Meola also designed an illustrated pocket guide for her students to reinforce their knowledge. "I encouraged them to share the booklet with new mothers as they teach mothers how to breastfeed,她说.
Currently, she is writing a research paper, edited by Kutenplon, which the two hope to publish. Meola也是护理项目的同伴导师. 她说, "Between tutoring and designing this project I discovered a passion for nursing education, and through my clinicals at Women and Infants Hospital I discovered a love of maternal nursing. 看到一位母亲生下她的孩子, 第一次看到她抱着她的孩子, 看到她脸上幸福的表情, 没有比这更好的了,”她说。. Like her mentor, Meola intends to become a nurse midwife.
安妮 & Bob DeStefano本科生研究奖学金
所有esball官方网的本科生都可以申请. 资格要求如下:
- Students must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student in any academic major or program at the college.
- Complete at least 45 credit hours at the time of application, with an overall GPA of at least 3.0
- The award must be used to support a senior project that has been approved by the student's department or program.
- And the application for funding must be approved by the faculty member who is directing the student's honors project.