“Nursing students’ experiences with concept cartoons as an active learning strategy for developing conceptual understanding in anatomy and physiology: A mixed-method study”

AimThe aim of this study was to explore bachelor-level nursing students’ experiences with concept cartoons as an active learning strategy and formative assessment to develop conceptual understanding in anatomy and physiology (A&P).BackgroundMany first-year nursing students struggle to understand central concepts in A&P. Concept cartoons–cartoon characters proposing scientifically acceptable statements and misconceptions combined with an illustration–might facilitate active learning in lectures, overcome misconceptions and promote deep learning. Voting on the most precise statement using a student response system gives formative information about the students’ conceptual understanding.DesignParallel mixed methods design with an emphasis on a qualitative approach.MethodsNine concept cartoons were developed based on former students’ written answers to exam items and applied in lectures at three universities/university colleges. Qualitative data of students’ experiences were collected in three focus group interviews during November 2019, one focus group at each of the three universities/university colleges (n = 5, 8 and 8). A short questionnaire was also applied (n = 343) to all students at the three universities/university colleges. Qualitative data were analysed using qualitative content analyses, whereas frequency analysis and Chi-square statistics were applied for the quantitative data. The study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data, ref. 779586.ResultsQualitative data analysis indicated that the use of concept cartoons addresses different learning styles and could promote deep learning and enhance the environment for learning. The concept cartoons were also seen as valuable for examination preparation. Regarding potential improvements, more information about concept cartoons, how they were developed and how they were supposed to be used would be beneficial, and the cartoons could be used in a more time-efficient manner during lectures. Quantitative data indicated that most of the students thought that concept cartoons were useful and inspiring in learning A&P, and they would recommend further use to increase their understanding of central concepts. There were no significant differences across sex, age, or entrance qualifications when it comes to the benefits of using concept cartoons in learning A&P. Compared to students born in Scandinavia, a larger proportion of students born outside Scandinavia found the use of concept cartoons inspiring for their learning in A&P.ConclusionsThe use of concept cartoons was appreciated by the students to develop a conceptual understanding in A&P. Most students recommended future use.Registration number: At point of submission put this on title pageTweetable abstract: Concept cartoons are appreciated as an active learning strategy and formative assessment in developing nursing students’ conceptual understanding of anatomy and physiology.     

Use of a flipped classroom “Leadership in Nursing” course on nursing students' achievement and experiences: A quasi-experimental study

BackgroundProviding the undergraduate “Leadership in Nursing” course using an innovative approach is regarded to be very important in terms of enhancing leadership skills.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of using the “flipped classroom” strategy on nursing students' learning achievements and to describe their experiences of this technique.MethodThe course of “Leadership in Nursing” was delivered in flipped classroom format for 20 students while another 19 were exposed to traditional teaching methods. Therefore, the study was completed with 39 students. Data was collected using “Student Introductory Information Form”, “Exams (a midterm exam, a final exam and 4 assignments)”, “In-Class Observation Form” and “Student Feedback Form”.FindingsStudents in the flipped classroom group had obtained significantly higher scores than the students in the traditional teaching group regarding the assignments, the final exam, and overall grade. Concerning the flipped classroom, students reported flexibility as the most positive aspect and problems related to the system infrastructure as the most negative aspect.ConclusionThe usage of a flipped classroom for nursing students in the leadership course provided valuable results in terms of the students' exam scores and achieving course objectives. The flipped classroom strategy for the “Leadership in Nursing” course was shown to be effective in improving abilities such as distinguishing leadership skills, visioning, developing a new perspective, willingness to share experiences regarding leadership, also enabling students to work in harmony in group activities and to participate in classroom discussions, which are all essential elements of leadership.     

A time management intervention using simulation to improve nursing students’ preparedness for medication administration in the clinical setting: A quasi-experimental study

Background

Practising skills to competency level in a simulated clinical environment is thought to prepare nursing students for the real world setting. The ability to prioritise and plan nursing care is also essential for effective work performance. There is, however, limited evidence to support that simulated learning improves preparation for clinical practice.

The effect of a more community-oriented curriculum on nursing students’ intervention choice in community care: A quasi-experimental cohort study

AimThe aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a more ‘community-oriented’ baccalaureate nursing curriculum on students’ intervention choice in community care.BackgroundFollowing a healthcare shift with increased chronic diseases in an ageing patient population receiving care at home, nursing education is revising its curricula with new themes (e.g., self-management) on community care. Although it seems obvious that students incorporate these themes in their nursing care interventions, this is unclear. This study investigates the effect of a redesigned curriculum on students’ care intervention choice in community nursing.DesignA quasi-experimental quantitative study.MethodsThis study with an historic control group (n = 328; study cohorts graduating in 2016 and 2017; response rate 83 %) and an intervention group n = 152; graduating in 2018; response rate 80 %) was performed at a University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The intervention group experienced a curriculum-redesign containing five new themes related to community care (e.g., enhancing self-management, collaboration with the patients’ social network, shared decision making, using health technology and care allocation). The primary outcome 'intervention choice in community nursing’ was assessed with a specially developed vignette instrument ‘Assessment of Intervention choice in Community Nursing’ (AICN). Through multiple regression analyses we investigated the effect of the curriculum-redesign on students’ intervention choice (more ‘traditional’ interventions versus interventions related to the five new themes). The control and intervention groups were compared on the number of interventions per theme and on the number of students choosing a theme, with a chi-square or T-test.ResultsStudents who studied under the more community-oriented curriculum chose interventions related to the new themes significantly more often, F(1461) = 14.827, p = <0.001, R² = .031. However, more traditional interventions are still favourite (although less in the intervention group): 74.5 % of the chosen interventions in the historic control group had no relation with the new curriculum-themes, vs. 71.3 % in the intervention group; p = .055).ConclusionsStudents who experienced a more ‘community-oriented’ curriculum were more likely, albeit to a limited extent, to choose the new community care themes in their caregiving. Seeing this shift in choices as a step in the right direction, it can be expected that the community care field in the longer term will benefit from these better skilled graduates.     

First year nursing students’ evaluation of Kahoot! to facilitate learning and testing knowledge. A pilot study in Ireland and Italy

BackgroundKahoot! was implemented as a strategy to help students in two programs meet problem-solving competencies. Kahoot! is an on online interactive quiz which utilizes competitiveness, music and count down clocks as motivational engagement for students in learning, and provides opportunity to enhance skills such as problem-solving and thinking in time-sensitive situations. There is a paucity of evidence about nursing students’ evaluation of using Kahoot! both for learning and testing knowledge.MethodsA single stage observational cross-sectional study was performed in Ireland and in Italy to evaluate first-year nursing students’ experience of Kahoot to evaluate their knowledge before skills laboratories.ResultsFirst-year nursing students (n = 83) were involved in this study, 41 in Dublin and 42 in Rome, respectively. About 66.19% of students reported strong agreement with the tool's utility.ConclusionsFindings show that students found Kahoot easy to use, helpful for learning especially in relation to formative assessment and impactful in preparing them for the practical part of the course. Educators could use game-based learning to engage students especially for the practical laboratories that are an important part of the nursing course.     

First year nursing students’ perceptions of learning interpersonal communication skills in their paid work: A multi-site Australasian study

Nursing students are increasingly undertaking paid work while studying and most choose paid work in health care or hospitality. This paper is drawn from a larger sequential exploratory mixed-method study which examined the relationship between students working while studying nursing and the impact on academic performance. In this paper, we explored first year nursing students’ perceptions of communication skills gained through paid work.Using a qualitative exploratory design, 50 first year commencing nursing students from four nursing schools (3 Australia; 1 New Zealand) were interviewed. Inductive thematic analysis was used which identified two themes: (i) recognising the value of learning interpersonal communication skills and; (ii)opportunities to develop effective interpersonal communication skills.Paid work provides interpersonal communication skills; active listening, being present and interacting while multi-tasking and emotion management. Undergraduate education providers need to recognise the benefits of paid work for students, including enhancing interpersonal skills.     

Effects of Digital Learning Materials on nursing students’ mathematics learning,self-efficacy,and task value in vocational education

The use of digital environments in nursing education offers new opportunities for nursing students' medical mathematics learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Digital Learning Materials (DLMs) on nursing students' mathematics learning, self-efficacy, and task value. A pre-test/post-test control group design was used. Students were assigned to the DLMs group (experimental condition) or the face-to-face group (control condition). Students in both conditions completed the same assignments and discussed these with their peers and the (online) teacher via the discussion board or in the classroom setting. The results showed that the mathematics learning of students undergoing DLMs training and of those undergoing face-to-face training improved from the pretest to the post-test, but no significant differences were found between the two conditions. A significant interaction effect between condition and self-efficacy was reported, producing a large reduction in the self-efficacy of students in the DLMs condition and a small reduction in the self-efficacy of students in the face-to-face condition. No significant differences were found for students' task value. The study offers new insights for the future design of mathematics training with DLMs, focusing on students’ appreciation of DLMs features, considering students with low and high learning abilities separately.     

Impact of the nurse-related information through social media use on undergraduate nursing students’ professional identity in nursing: A mixed-methods study

AimTo understand the impact of nurse-related information, through social media usage on undergraduate nursing students’ professional identity.BackgroundPrevious research has addressed professional knowledge and practice that affect the development of undergraduate nursing students’ professional identities. As an increasingly crucial factor in the internet age, social media needs to be explored in-depth for its influence on the professional identity in nursing.DesignSequential explanatory mixed method was used in this study.MethodsIn this quantitative study, participants (N = 698) completed an e-questionnaire survey between June and July of 2020. The relationship between main variables was analyzed by linear regression using SPSS 20.0. Then, face-to-face semi-structured and audio-recorded interviews were carried out among participants (N = 16) between January and March of 2021.ResultsThe quantitative findings indicated that the mean score of professional identity was 93.07 ± 11.96 in participants. The results of the linear regression showed that the year in school, whether nursing was the first choice, online time per day, frequency of reading official accounts related nursing on WeChat and appraisal of the online nurse-related information and so on explained 49.0 % of the variance in professional identity. Four major themes emerged from the qualitative study: 1) increased concern; 2) few and non-professional information; 3) encouraged by positive information; 4) limited impact of negative information.ConclusionsNurse-related information on social media has the potential to have an impact on undergraduate nursing students’ professional identity. Nursing educators should guide undergraduate nursing students to use social media appropriately and assist them in developing their professional identity with it.     

Nursing students’ perceptions of community care and other areas of nursing practice – A review of the literature

ObjectivesTo review recent literature on student nurses’ perceptions of different areas of nursing practice, in particular community care. Healthcare is changing from care delivery in institutional settings to care to patients in their own homes. Problematic is that nursing students do not see community care as an attractive line of work, and their perceptions of community care do not reflect the realities of the profession. Understanding the factors influencing the perception of the professional field is important to positively influence students’ willingness to see community nursing as a future profession.DesignLiterature search with accompanying narrative synthesis of primary research.Data sourcesERIC^®, PsycInfo^®, Pubmed^®, and CINAHL^® (2004–2014) databases using the search terms: ‘nursing student’, ‘student nurse’, ‘community care’, ‘community nurse’, ‘image’, ‘attitude’, and ‘perception’.Review methodsAfter screening 522 retrieved article titles with abstracts, the number of articles was reduced based upon specified inclusion/exclusion criteria leading to inclusion of 34. Evaluation of the references in those articles yielded an additional 5 articles. A narrative synthesis of those articles was created to uncover students’ perception of community care, other areas of professional practice, and the factors influencing those perceptions.Results39 articles were selected. Results show that many nursing students begin their education with a lay person's conception of the profession, shaped by media representations. Work placements in different settings offer clinical experience that helps students orient themselves towards a future profession. Students prefer hospitals as a place of work, because of the acute nature and technologically advanced level of care offered there. Few students perceive mental health and elderly care as appealing. Perceptions of community care can vary widely, the most prevalent view being that it is unattractive because of its chronic care profile, with little technical skill, untrained workers, and a high workload. However, another view is that it offers challenging and meaningful work because of the variety of caregiving roles and the opportunity to work independently.ConclusionsFew nursing students choose community nursing as a future profession. They have a limited and often mistaken view of community care, and they underestimate the field's complexity because it is less visible than in the environment of acute care. Providing students with specific curricular content and employing a structured approach to preparation for work placement could help build a more positive perception of community care, leading to more students seeing/choosing community care as a desirable field of work.     

The process of learning and professional development according to nursing students’ experience during Covid-19: A constructivist grounded theory study

AimThis study explored the experiences of nursing students with respect to learning processes and professional development during internships with COVID-19 patients to build a novel theoretical model.BackgroundThe COVID-19 outbreak had a profound impact on the worldwide learning system and it interrupted the internship experiences of nursing students. After the second wave of COVID-19, to balance academic activities with COVID-19 containment, some Italian universities allowed nursing students’ internships in COVID-19 units. This new experience may have influenced nursing students’ learning processes and professional development, but this is yet to be investigated.DesignA qualitative study using a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach.MethodsNursing students were recruited from two hospitals in northern Italy between January and April 2021. Data are gathered from interviews and a simultaneous comparative analysis were conducted to identify categories and codes, according to Charmaz’s (2006) theory.ResultsThe sample consisted of 28 students. The results suggested the core category, that is the ‘Students’ sense of belonging to the nursing profession’ and four main categories: (1) From knowledge to know-how, (2) A new relationship modality, (3) Sharing and socialisation and (4) Responsibilization. Finally, a premise and a corollary, respectively (5) Motivation and the (6) Circularity of the process, were identified.ConclusionOur study proposed a new theory of nursing students’ learning processes in clinical contexts during internships with COVID-19 patients. Despite significant difficulties, the nursing students developed a unique learning process characterised by motivation. Therefore, our study provided insight into the learning process during a pandemic and investigated the support needed for nursing students to continue their internships.