Change in the recognition of pediatric nursing of nurses with child rearing experience

Abstract

 This study elucidated the changes in nursing practice that occurred before and after child rearing, and the changes in perception about pediatric nursing as expressed by nurses with child rearing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nurses working in a pediatric ward before and after child rearing the interview content was structured using KJ method. The results indicated that the nurses were able to “ ‘move the starting point [of nursing]’ to the mother’s stance” instead of “taking a medical stance,” and were also able to get involved in pediatric nursing with the perception of having “many ‘options’ by drawing upon actual experience.” Moreover, the nurses were able to practice nursing that recognized the necessity of mother-inclusive thinking about “nursing intervention for mother and child, based on acceptance by mother and child,” the necessity of “family-inclusive support with due respect to the child” instead of considering the child as an independent individual, and the importance of “nursing intervention giving due respect to the child” as an individual. The nurses were able to foster such improvement in their quality of involvement with the mothers and infants because they were successful in “career development in pediatric nursing through child rearing” based on their own experiences.