Effect of repeated standardized patient simulations on family planning education skills of nursing students

Abstract

ABSTRACT The use of standardized patients in nursing education provides many advantages such as providing students with realistic learning opportunities, defining patient needs, reducing anxiety, and stress while caring for real patients in clinical practice, and increasing clinical performance, theoretical knowledge, and self-confidence. This study aimed to examine the effect of repeated standardized patient simulations in family planning counseling on the anxiety levels, communication, and counseling skills of nursing students. This is a quasi-experimental study with single group pretest-posttest. The study sample consisted of 44 nursing students. Student sociodemographic form, State anxiety inventory, Communication skills inventory, and Family planning counseling skill learning guides were used as data collection tools. The median of the State anxiety inventory before the first standard patient simulation was 43.0, and the median of the State anxiety inventory before the repeated simulation was 38.5. A significant difference was found between after the first standard patient simulation and repeated simulations to students’ median scores of State anxiety inventory, Communication skills inventory, and Family planning counseling skills (p < 0.05). Repeated simulations with standardized patients has contributed positively to reducing anxiety among students and increasing students’ family planning counseling and communication skills.