Egan DNP Student Teaches Therapeutic Communication to Maternity Nurses

For her doctoral project, DNP student Beth Gilio presented evidence-based communications strategies to more than 50 nurses at a perinatal loss nursing skills day at Greenwich Hospital.

Fairfield University graduate student Beth Gilio works part-time nights at Greenwich Hospital. She is also in her final semester of the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree program at the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies. Although graduate school is already demanding, her part-time job has always made it more difficult. That is, until she embarked upon her DNP project.

A registered nurse for 35 years, Gilio has spent most of her career in maternity care. She enjoys working with new and expecting mothers because pregnancy is usually such a happy time. Of course, not all pregnancies end with a smile. Given this unsettling truth, Greenwich Hospital formed an interdisciplinary perinatal bereavement council to provide additional support services to families experiencing loss. Gilio became interested and got involved.

Through her work with the council, she identified an opportunity to address learning needs in the maternity care unit in which she worked. And just like that, her DNP project was born.

“I appreciate that my work at Greenwich allowed me to recognize a clinical problem that needed to be addressed,” she said.

Identifying and implementing a DNP project is often a daunting task. A culmination of student learning, the project demonstrates the ability to assess and apply existing evidence to improve healthcare delivery systems and patient outcomes.

Gilio had long noticed that nurses in her unit struggle with knowing what to say to grieving mothers and fathers. Moreover, she understood that the consequences of that struggle could negatively impact patient outcomes.

“Young nurses, especially, are very uncomfortable talking about fetal demise,” she said. “I wanted to teach them the principles of therapeutic communication to help them overcome their discomfort and engage patients and families in meaningful conversations that initiate healing.”

After months of research and preparation, Gilio implemented her project at a perinatal loss nursing skills day at Greenwich Hospital. More than 50 labor and delivery nurses attended her presentation, which taught evidence-based communication strategies for supporting mothers, fathers, and families experiencing loss.

The project also included a perinatal loss simulation with members of the hospital’s palliative care team and four families that have experienced perinatal loss. The simulation helped attendees develop and practice skills taught at the presentation.

With the implementation of her DNP project complete, Gilio is now focused on preparing her manuscript about the project and its impact. She looks forward to completing this final requirement for her DNP degree and becoming a psychological mental health nurse practitioner.

Gilio's goal is to work with women experiencing perinatal mood disorders. “I have a strong calling to this area to help women,” she said.

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