A continuing education program for hospital and public health nurses to guide families of very low birth-weight infants in caregiving.

Nurses have a critical role in family development of competencies for giving care to very low birth-weight infants, However, current information-based methods of preparation may be inadequate for competency development. This article describes a continuing education program designed to strengthen nurses' support of families in developing caregiving competencies through processes of guided participation. Program effectiveness was explored with: (1) a survey of participant and non-participant nurse satisfaction with family work and with organizational resources and practices; (2) a description of relationship and caregiving competencies for mothers who had and had not received guided participation; and (3) a review of mothers' reports of their experience either with or without guided participation. Organizational arrangements and mechanisms for establishing guided participation practice within an agency, including ongoing reflective supervision sessions, peer collaboration, and documentation of competency development, are discussed.