Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention for Non-Obstetrical Nurses at a Rural Alabama Hospital.

Background: Nurses working in maternity care deserts must be vigilant in recognizing the vague symptoms of postpartum complications.

Method: The project used a pre-post knowledge design to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-phase education program in improving RNs' knowledge and confidence in triaging women of childbearing age and identifying postpartum complications. Nurses in a rural emergency department viewed a 20-minute YouTube video and participated an interactive face-to-face session 2 weeks after the online presentation. Changes in knowledge and self-efficacy were assessed immediately after the online education and 2 months after the interactive session.

Results: Of the 13 RNs, six viewed the video and 10 attended the interactive sessions. Of the five RNs who completed the post-video assessments, knowledge and self-efficacy scores showed improvement of 33.67% and 12.23%, respectively. Only two RNs completed the assessments following the interactive sessions.

Conclusion: Nurses' knowledge and confidence in triaging and identifying postpartum patients and complications improved after online education. Low-cost, accessible continuing education programs can offer an effective means for furthering competence and confidence.