The Learning Effectiveness of Structured Assessment Stations with Immediate Feedback in Evidence-Based Practice Education

Abstract

Background: The development of clinical expertise depends not only on abundant practice but also on guidance through good feedback. Clinical teachers can improve learners’ skills by providing specific, performance-based feedback. In Taiwan, evidence-based practice (EBP) education has been taught through workshops, hands-on practice and small group discussion. However, the impact of feedback in EBP is still unknown. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of structured assessment stations with immediate feedback in EBP education among nurses. Methods: The study was a quasi-experimental with repeated measures. Convenience sampling was used in two university hospitals. The intervention involved four immediate feedback structured assessment stations one week after a four-hour EBP workshop. The outcomes were measured by Taipei Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (TEBPQ), which contains 26 self-report questions, completed three times to evaluate learning efficiency of EBP. At the end of the program, qualitative data on the learners’ feelings, perceptions, and experiences toward the training process were also collected for analysis. Results: Sixty-one of the seventy participants (87.1%; 61/70) completed the study. In this research, the mean scores of Taipei Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (TEBPQ) for ‘Ask’, ‘Acquire’, ‘Appraisal’, ‘Apply’, and ‘Attitude’ domains all increased significantly after the participants attended the four assessment stations with immediate feedback (all p<. 05). After the EBP 4 workshop, the standardised TEBPQ scores improvement reached 20%. Furthermore, structured assessment stations with immediate feedback may improve overall learning efficiency by 35%. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that structured assessment stations with immediate feedback may improve overall learning efficiency over an EBP workshop alone. As a result, small group discussion, hands-on practice and additional immediate feedback structured assessment stations may be considered by educators who are interested in enhancing EBP ability among healthcare professionals.