Comparison of Japanese Nursing Students’ Image of Children and Medical Institutions Before and After a Pediatric Nursing Modules

The nursing students have fewer opportunities to come into contact with children due to the declining birth rate in Japan. The objective of this study was to clarify the changing of the feelings of children and the image of nursing students about the medical institutes of pediatric before and after a pediatric nursing modules. We also aimed to identify related issues in education of pediatric nursing that need to be addressed in Japanese nursing education in order to facilitate faculty development. Students who had taken a 4-year nursing course (244 nursing students from one university) were asked to rate items on the Affection for Babies Scale (ABS; Hanazawa, 1992) and a questionnaire on their image of hospitals (clean, scary, it seems tough, an unknown world, etc.) created by the authors before 2nd-year modules and after 3rd-year modules. Informed consent was obtained from all students who agreed to participate. Analysis of 217 valid responses of students who took the survey both before and after the course was conducted. In response to the question regarding contact with children before the 2nd-year modules, showing that more than 70% of students had limited contact with children. Approximately 60% of the students answered that they “consciously watched children” after the 3rd-year modules. There was no significant difference in the mean of ABS scores before and after the course. While this course evoked a general interest in children, additional measures are needed to develop a course tailored to students with strong avoidance feelings towards children. Students’ image of hospitals as “scary” places and “an unknown world” therefore decreased, and answers of “it seems tough” and “I am unsure (how to interact with children)” increased as students’ image of hospitals improved to “friendly and helpful” as a result of this course. This suggested that students need psychological support for times when they actually come into contact with children and to teach child health nursing with a good relationship between the mentor and mentee at Japanese nursing education