Abstract
BackgroundThere is a need to change the focus of nursing education from traditional teacher-centered training programs to student-centered active methods. The integration of the two active learning techniques will improve the effectiveness of training programs. The objective of this study is to compare the effects of the integrated training (simulation and critical thinking strategies) and simulation-based training on the performance level and critical thinking ability of nursing students.MethodsThe present quasi-experimental study was performed in 2014 on 40 students who were studying practical nursing principles and skills course in the first half of the academic year in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Students were randomly divided into control (n = 20) and experimental (n = 20) groups.After training students through simulation and integrated education (simulation and critical thinking strategies), the students' critical thinking ability and performance were evaluated via the use of California Critical Thinking Ability Questionnaire B (CCTST) and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) comprising 10 stations, respectively. The external reliability of the California Critical Thinking questionnaire was reported by Case B.to be between 0.78 and 0.80 and the validity of OSCE was approved by 5 members of the faculty. Furthermore, by using Split Half method (the correlation between odd and even stations), the reliability of the test was approved with correlation coefficient of 0.66. Data were analyzed using t-test and Mann–Whitney test. A significance level of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsThe mean scores of the experimental group performance level were higher than the mean score of the control group performance level. This difference was statistically significant and students in the experimental group in OSCE stations had significantly higher performance than the control group (P <0.001). However, the mean scores obtained for the critical thinking did not increase before and after the intervention.ConclusionThe results showed that, the students’ performance level was increased by the application of integrated training (simulation and critical thinking strategies).
Highlights
There is a need to change the focus of nursing education from traditional teacher-centered training programs to student-centered active methods
Study design This research was a quasi-experimental research with non-equivalent group pretest posttest design, which was carried out to compare the effect of simulation-based training and integrated training on the performance level and the critical thinking ability of nursing students studying at Shiraz Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in 2014
The results of this study showed that the performance level of students in the experimental group was higher than the performance level of students in the control group (p
Summary
There is a need to change the focus of nursing education from traditional teacher-centered training programs to student-centered active methods. Deubel stated that the use of an educational theory and subsequent use of a teaching model alone is not sufficient to advance learning and in order to design active courses and create the ground for learners to think, educational spectrum and teaching models must be integrated. The integration of these practices such as simulation and critical thinking strategies will improve the effectiveness of training programs and will help students gain Nursing skills [3]. Nursing education has stressed critical thinking as a necessary nursing skill [4]
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