Introduction of a Support System for Maternal Nursing Using the Internet for Nursing Education

Abstract

 This paper will report the development of nursing knowledge for maternity care on the Internet and its practical use. This support system for maternal nursing is composed of four domains: medical knowledge, nursing knowledge, patient education, and access to other related sites. Each educational item was developed with computer applications available on the market: Power Point, Persuasion, Publisher, File Maker Pro and so on. This support system is composed of the most up-to-date information from Japan and the U.S. and it includes many colorful pictures for students to understand easily. In the past, each educational item was accessible only through the original application. Now, we have integrated all of the information on the Internet making it accessible from any Internet terminal. When we put our support system on the Internet, it became very useful for nursing students preparing for class, studying, and reviewing. They also accessed the system from the maternity ward during their clinical practice. As it is easy to access, it helped refresh their memory. As a result, their impression of clinical practice changed. They felt satisfaction and gained self-confidence in clinical practice. As for the staff of the maternity ward, the support system useful for them to plan each patient’s care and to have current knowledge readily available so they can provide high quality patient care.