Graduate nurses' comfort and knowledge level regarding tracheostomy care.

This study examined 104 new graduate nurses' (GNs) comfort level before and after a tracheostomy inservice educational session. Results indicate no correlation between reported comfort level and knowledge in caring for patients with tracheostomies. Findings demonstrate that GNs can benefit significantly from inservice education and skills integration. This suggests that hands-on skills content should be a priority for inclusion into nurse residency programs, particularly with specialized, high-risk, low-incidence nursing skills, regardless of how comfortable nurses report they are with a given patient population.