Purpose: This single-group pre-post experimental study aimed to develop and apply a simulation-based infection control education program for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses to verify its effectiveness and provide baseline educational materials to strengthen NICU nurses’ infection control competencies. Methods: The educational program was developed according to the five phases of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation models, with scenarios based on the educational needs of NICU nurses. To verify the program’s effectiveness, a study was conducted on 28 NICU nurses of general and tertiary hospitals. NICU nurses’ infection control knowledge, performance confidence, critical thinking disposition, and satisfaction with the education were surveyed after applying the education program. Results: The simulation-based NICU infection control educational program was effective for NICU nurses’ infection control knowledge (t=−7.35, p < .001), performance confidence (t=−6.30, p < .001), and critical thinking disposition (t=−5.12, p < .001). Conclusions: The infection control educational program can contribute to infection prevention and patient safety by improving the NICU nurses' infection control competencies and be used as a baseline educational material for infection control education.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the current status and needs of nursing education for extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants in Korea, and to obtain preliminary information to develop a simulation-based educational program on nursing care for nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICUs). Method: Descriptive survey design was adopted in developing an ELBW infant nursing education program. Data were collected from 71 NICU nurses using a questionnaire survey. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) (version 23) for windows was used to analyze the frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation of the collected data. Results: Seventy-one nurses working in the NICU reported that majority of them (76.1%) had experience in ELBW infants’ nursing education. The following were highly recommended for simulated training by NICU nurses: nursing intervention immediately after birth in ELBW infants (69.0%), NICU‘ initial admission nursing (66.2%), and frequency response coping nursing (57.7%). Conclusion: The study revealed that there is a considerable need for the ELBW infants nursing education program. The results of this survey will ultimately provide a basis for developing simulation-based ELBW infants nursing training programs for NICU nurses.