A holistic educational program and its association with self-reported knowledge and perceived competence in neonatal mechanical ventilation: a prospective, single-group pre–post pilot study

Traditional neonatal mechanical ventilation (MV) training tends to focus narrowly on weaning parameters, and holistic programs that pair technical ventilation content with supportive nursing care, such as physiotherapy and kangaroo care, remain uncommon. This pilot study evaluated the immediate effect of a multifaceted MV curriculum on nurses’ self-reported knowledge, perceived competence, and evidence-based practice (EBP) awareness. We conducted a prospective, quasi-experimental, single-group pre-test/post-test pilot study of 28 NICU nurses; no control group was included. The 7-hour curriculum covered MV principles, physiotherapy, and kangaroo care, and outcomes were measured with a 23-item, 5-point Likert self-report instrument that had been content-validated by a panel of seven neonatologists (Content Validity Index: 0.92; internal consistency Cronbach’s α = 0.928). The instrument assessed self-reported clinical knowledge, perceived competence, and EBP awareness. Overall self-reported scores improved significantly after the intervention (pre-test 4.44 ± 0.38 vs. post-test 4.78 ± 0.23, P < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.96), with gains evident across all three domains: Perceived Competence ( P < 0.001, d = 1.38), EBP Awareness ( P = 0.008, d = 0.87), and Clinical Knowledge ( P = 0.034, d = 0.59). In an exploratory, underpowered comparison, junior nurses ( n = 20) showed a numerically larger gain than senior nurses ( n = 8; +0.39 vs. +0.23), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.294). Given the small and unequal subgroup sizes, this result should not be read as evidence that both groups benefited equally, and a Type II error cannot be excluded. Baseline scores were already high (4.30–4.55 of 5), raising the possibility of a ceiling effect that may have limited how much improvement could be detected. In this single-group pilot, a holistic MV curriculum was associated with immediate gains in nurses’ self-reported knowledge, perceived competence, and EBP awareness. These findings are best regarded as preliminary and self-reported rather than as evidence of demonstrated clinical competence or patient-safety benefit. Larger, controlled, multicenter trials with objective performance measures and longer follow-up will be needed before such a program could be recommended for wider use.