Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2026
Language
English
Document Type
DNP Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Dr. Cathy Brown
Abstract
Background—Infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) are being care for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by increasing numbers of novice nurses. Understanding complex cardiac anatomy is imperative to novice nurses’ readiness to care. Parents of infants with CHD may not understand their child’s anatomy, which impacts many facets of their care.
Purpose— The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to determine if education, including 3D heart models improved novice nurse readiness to care for NICU patients with CHD and if parental understanding improves after receiving education with 3D heart models.
Methods— This was a plan-do-study-act (PDSA) designed QI project carried out in a level IV NICU. The target populations were novice nurses who care for infants with CHD and the parents of these patients. The intervention incorporated the use of 3D-printed hearts depicting CHD and providing tailored CHD education. Pre- and post- intervention data collection evaluated nurse readiness to care for and parental understanding of CHD.
Results— Use of 3D heart models for education increased novice nurses' readiness to care scores and parental understanding of CHD.
Implications for Practice and Research— Use of 3D heart models in education supports nurse and parent understanding of CHD and may lead to improved patient outcomes.
Keywords
NICU, neonatal intensive care, CHD, congenital heart disease, 3D modeling, 3D heart, readiness to care, parental understanding, novice nurse, NICU nurse
Disciplines
Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Stacy Ranee, "Tiny Heart Bundle QI Project: 3D Modeling to Improve Care of Cardiac NICU Patients" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects-Archive. 133.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/nursing_dnpprojects/133