Date of Award
Spring 3-22-2026
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Sheri Jacobson, PhD, RN
Second Advisor
Alicia Hubbard, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Abstract
Practice Problem: Nurses working in a general emergency department (GED) with a low (3.3%) pediatric patient volume expressed a lack of confidence caring for complex pediatric patients.
PICOT: In general emergency department nurses (P), how does participating in a pediatric simulation event (I), compared to current practice (C), affect nurse confidence scores caring for pediatric patients (O) over 6 weeks (T)?
Evidence: A review of over 17 evidence-based resources found good quality evidence that suggested participating in a simulation event can improve nurse confidence.
Intervention: Over six weeks, GED staff members participated in a pediatric simulation event. The simulation utilized the Simbox+ bronchiolitis simulation, a mannequin, and a pediatric crash cart (Athanasopoulou et al., 2024). All participants were provided a pediatric specific vital signs badge buddy with a QR code that linked to free pediatric resources. Those who agreed to, completed a pre and post simulation event confidence survey based on Grundy’s C-scale (1993).
Outcome: Dependent t-test analysis of the 58 responses (85% of the unit’s nurse population) revealed increased confidence levels after participating in the simulation. Nurses rated their own confidence to care for a stable pediatric patient 11% higher (p = 0.001), a potentially unstable patient 18% higher (p < 0.001), and an unstable patient 26% higher (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: GED nurses who participated in this DNP scholarly project reported increased confidence levels caring for pediatric patients in themselves (statistical significance) and their teammates (clinical significance). They also expressed a desire to participate in more simulation events.
Recommended Citation
Wright, K. E. (2026). Pediatric Simulation and Emergency Nurse Confidence. [Doctoral project, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences]. SOAR @ USA: Student Scholarly Projects Collection. https://doi.org/10.46409/sr.YAGT3891
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Scholarly project submitted to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice.