Using standardized patients to improve the hygiene care skills of first-year nursing students: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundStandardized patient was useful for knowledge acquirement, communication skills, self-efficacy, learning motivation and clinical skill acquirement in the literature. AimThe aim of this study was to compare the effects of standardized patient and low-fidelity mannequin use in teaching hygiene care. MethodsThis study was conducted as a randomized controlled study. The study was conducted on first-year nursing students in a nursing school in Turkey. The study inclusion criteria were as follows: voluntary acceptance of study participation, and participation in theoretical lectures on hygiene education. Eighty students were recruited for the study population. The students were divided into two groups consisting of 40 students in each group. The intervention group performed the simulation using a standardized patient, and the control group performed the simulation using a low-fidelity mannequin. The same simulation scenarios were used for both groups. ResultsThe hygiene care performance scores and students’ satisfaction and self-confidence scale and simulation design scale scores of the students in the standardized patient group were significantly higher than in the low-fidelity mannequin group. The students in the standardized patient group also showed less stress-related physical reactions in the actual environment and with an actual patient, experienced less difficulty during practice, felt more adequate, and better transferred the skills they had learned in the laboratory to clinical practice. ConclusionSimulation with standardized patient is an effective teaching method for improving outcomes hygiene care skills of nursing students.