Nursing students get training on maternity care

MUSCAT: The Maternal Clinical Nursing students of the College of Nursing at SQU organised a presentation on evidence-based practice in maternity care titled ‘Bridging the Gap: Through Best Evidences to Best Practices’ recently.

The presentation focused on research evidences related pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, targeted staff nurses from the maternity related wards at SQU Hospital.

Over 24 senior nurses, including the head nurses and deputy head nurses from the wards, attended the presentation. There were five groups of students and each group presented innovative proven research findings that covered the area of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum.

Dr Vidya Seshan, Head of Department of Maternal and Child Health Nursing, and course coordinator in unison with her course team Dr Girija, Divya, Sophia and Frincy voiced the opinion that there is a need for keeping abreast of the happening especially to meet the growing demands of quality in patient care.

“To keep pace with it, utilisation of the available research findings and implementing them in the clinical settings would fasten the process of creating an evidence-based practice environment and bring out those published Level I research evidences that remain as ‘Sleeping Beauties’ in the shelves,” they observed.

Innovative upcoming research findings like use of Haptotherapy for reducing fear of childbirth as well as using ice massage for coping with labour pain were also presented. The research studies were chosen with care under the guidance of their instructors and were chosen from the Level I evidences which include the RCT to serve with quality.

Raya al Ghassaini, Deputy Head Midwife, Labor Room, said: “This introduces the birthing ball to promote benefits among pregnant woman.” Morniyati Ismail, Head Nurse, 2 Red, SQUH and Janice Priya Sunny, Staff Nurse, Antenatal OPD, SQUH, voiced the same views that ‘most of the nurses usually complain of their lack of time to get back and read research.