DNP, Walsh University, 2023, Nursing

Nurses that care for pediatric patients with behavioral disorders and aggression in a non-psychiatric setting face unique challenges. Pediatric nurses are usually not trained to care for children with aggression and behavioral outbursts, which result in high rates of burnout. Providing formal trauma-informed patient care education and training to pediatric nurses can improve their confidence and the quality of care in managing patient aggression. The purposes of this study were to a.) examine if Welle behavioral-management training is effective in improving pediatric nurse confidence in the management of pediatric aggression in a non-psychiatric setting and b.) examine the relationship between demographic characteristics and nurse confidence. A convenience sample of 13 registered nurses employed on the pediatric medical-surgical unit who received the Welle training educational intervention were recruited to participate in this study. A one-group pretest post-test study design was used to assess registered nurses' level of confidence in managing pediatric patients with aggression before and after the Welle training. To measure nurse confidence in the management of pediatric aggression, The Incidence of and Attitudes Toward Aggression in the Workplace questionnaire was administered before and up to two weeks after the Welle training. Results indicate that the Welle training was effective in improving nursing confidence scores in the management of patients with aggression. Findings from this study provide information on how training and education can improve nurse confidence scores in the management of pediatric aggression. These findings can be useful when designing nursing orientation programs and standardizing aggression management education across health systems.

Committee: Shelly Amato-Curran PhD, APRN-CNS,CRRN (Committee Co-Chair); Janeen Kotsch PhD, MSN/Ed, RN, CNE (Committee Chair) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Nursing