Is Moulage effective in improving clinical skills of nursing students for the assessment of pressure injury?

Comparison of standardized patient and medium-fidelity simulation practices on nursing students' knowledge, staging, and satisfaction regarding pressure injuries: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to compare the effects of education using standardized patients (SP) and medium-fidelity simulation (MFS) on nursing students' knowledge, staging, and satisfaction related to pressure injuries (PI).

DESIGN

A pre- and post-test, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

The study included nursing students (n = 79) from a nursing faculty in western Turkey between April and July. Data were collected using the Student Characteristics Form, the Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Assessment Tool 2.0 (PUKAT 2.0-T), the Pressure Injury Staging Form, and the Student Satisfaction and Confidence in Learning Scale.

RESULTS

The SP (n = 40) and MFS (n = 39) groups did not demonstrate any significant differences in staging levels (SP: 9.42 ± 3.24, MFS: 10.41 ± 2.96) or PI knowledge (SP: 11.73 ± 3.39, MFS: 12.00 ± 4.52) following the simulation experience. Both groups showed a statistically significant increase in PI knowledge and staging levels after the interventions compared to before (p < .05). The learning satisfaction level of the SP group (23.03 ± 2.37) was significantly higher than that of the MFS group (21.51 ± 4.03) (p < .05). No significant differences were found between the groups regarding self-confidence levels (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

Both simulation methods improved students' PI knowledge and staging levels; however, the satisfaction level of students in the SP group was found to be higher. Therefore, it is recommended to enhance the realism of PI education using SPs and to expand the use of simulation practices.

REGISTRATION

The study has been registered with the National Library of Medicine Clinical Trials: NCT05946291.

The efficacy of a mobile augmented reality application in improving nursing students' knowledge, skills, and motivation in pressure injury assessment: A randomized controlled trial

AIM

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a mobile augmented reality application on nursing students' knowledge, skills, and motivation related to pressure injuries.

METHODS

This randomized controlled quasi-experimental study was conducted with 130 first-year nursing students from a university in Turkey. Students in the intervention group received training on pressure injury prevention using a mobile augmented reality application, while the control group followed traditional teaching methods. The data collection process included three stages: preparation and pre-application, theoretical and laboratory training, and skill assessment. Ethical approval was secured from the relevant committee and institution prior to the study. Data analysis utilized descriptive statistics such as number, percentage, minimum and maximum values, median, mean, and standard deviation, as well as independent t-tests and paired sample t-tests.

RESULTS

The study revealed that the post-test total knowledge scores for pressure injury prevention were comparable between the intervention and control groups. However, the intervention group demonstrated significantly higher mean performance scores in pressure injury assessment skills compared to the control group (p = 0.000). Additionally, the mean motivation scores of the intervention group were found to be significantly greater than those of the control group (p = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS

As a result of this study, it was found that the education provided using a mobile augmented reality application increased nursing students' skill levels and motivation regarding pressure injuries.

High-Fidelity, Indigenously Prepared, Low-Cost Moulage as a Valid Simulation Tool to Improve Trauma Education

Background Simulation-based trauma education facilitates repeated practice in a controlled and safer environment for the learner without any risk to the patient's well-being. Moulage contributes to the perception of reality during training using standardized patients. However, the high cost of commercial moulage items is often prohibitive for regular use. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of indigenously prepared, low-cost moulage as a valid simulation tool to improve trauma education, explore possible replacements of commercial moulage products, and determine their merits and demerits. Methodology Readily available economic items were used to make low-cost moulage on the simulated patients to replicate trauma victims. A cross-sectional design used a pre-validated Modified Moulage Authenticity Rating Scale to collect data from 61 participants of Advanced Trauma Life Support and Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses courses to analyze the effectiveness and fidelity of moulage. Results In total, 54 (89%) participants scored the low-cost moulage to provide high fidelity effectively. The majority of respondents graded the authenticity of moulage as good. Overall, 46 (75%) participants felt moulage injuries were quite realistic. All agreed that the moulage-based simulation offered a good teaching-learning alternative to assess and manage trauma victims. Further, 45 (73%) participants felt they were in an actual clinical situation, and 58 (95%) stated it could help them in their clinical practice. Conclusions Indigenously prepared, low-cost moulage is a feasible and cost-effective means to enhance fidelity in simulation-based trauma education. It can also be a possible replacement for commercial moulage. Further research is needed to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of indigenously prepared, cost-effective moulage in trauma education to enhance patient care outcomes. This technique can also be easily translated into other simulation-based medical education domains.

Examining the effect of training with a teaching for understanding framework on intravenous therapy administration's knowledge, performance, and satisfaction of nursing students: a non-randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND

Nursing students require improvement in their intravenous infusion therapy management skills, yet traditional training models possess deficiencies. The Teaching for Understanding (TfU) Framework can enhance the teaching-learning process and support quality education. Therefore, utilizing TfU framework for training may promote the performance of nurses.

METHODS

Utilizing a non-synchronized design, 102 nurses were recruited using a convenience sampling method. Fifty-one student nurses from August 2019 to January 2021 were designated as the control group, and 51 student nurses from February 2021 to July 2022 were included as the intervention group. The control group received traditional teaching methods, while the intervention group was trained based on TfU framework. The impact was gauged through medical education environment perception, theory and practice assessments, and learning satisfaction surveys.

RESULTS

After the training, there was no significant difference between the control group and the intervention group in the theory assessment. However, the practice assessment scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Compared with the control group, the learning satisfaction scores of the trained nurses in the intervention group were significantly higher, exhibiting significant differences, particularly in communication ability, teamwork cooperation, summing up capability, and interest in learning improvement. Furthermore, the scores of the learning perceptions, atmosphere, social self-perceptions, and total scores of the intervention group were significantly higher.

CONCLUSION

Training using TfU framework can heighten students' understanding and command over knowledge and skills, fuel their learning fervor, and enhance their communication and collaboration abilities. TfU framework should be disseminated in medical education to improve the quality of education.

The impact of moulage on learners' experience in simulation-based education and training: systematic review

BACKGROUND

Moulage is a technique used to simulate injury, disease, aging and other physical characteristics specific to a scenario, often used in health and emergency worker training, predominantly for simulation-based learning activities. Its use in allied health fields is unclear. Previous work has explored moulage as an adjunct for authentic simulations, however there is opportunity for broadening its scope.

AIM

To explore the effects of moulage interventions in simulation-based education and training, for learner experience. A secondary aim was to understand which pedagogical frameworks were embedded in moulage interventions.

METHOD

Four electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, EmBase, Proquest Central) were systematically searched to December 2022 for studies utilising moulage in simulation-based education experiences. Outcomes were focused on learner satisfaction, confidence, immersion, engagement, performance, or knowledge. Study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

RESULTS

Twenty studies (n = 11,470) were included. Studies were primarily conducted in medicine (n = 9 studies) and nursing (n = 5 studies) and less frequently across other health disciplines. The findings demonstrated greater learner satisfaction, confidence, and immersion when moulage was used against a comparator group. Minimal improvements in knowledge and performance were identified. One study underpinned the intervention with a pedagogical theory.

CONCLUSION

Moulage improves learner experience in simulation-based education or training, but not knowledge or clinical performance. Further research utilising moulage across a broader range of professions is needed. Interventions using moulage should be underpinned by pedagogical theories.

Developing student nurses' evaluative judgement in clinical practice tertiary education: A systematic scoping review of teaching and assessment methods

OBJECTIVES

This review aimed to systematically scope undergraduate or postgraduate tertiary higher education nursing students' clinical practice teaching and assessment methods to identify features that align with promoting students' evaluative judgement.

INTRODUCTION

Evaluative judgement is a new concept to nursing tertiary education. Currently, there are no published reviews of evaluative judgement in nursing clinical practice education. This review aims to assist nursing educators to operationalise the concept of evaluative judgement in clinical practice education. As such the starting point was to determine features of evaluative judgement in current clinical teaching and assessment designs.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

Peer reviewed qualitative or quantitative studies that have evaluated teaching and/or assessment of tertiary (university/higher education) pre-registration (undergraduate) or post-registration (postgraduate) nursing students' clinical practice.

METHODS

The systematic scoping review was prospectively registered systematic review (OSF DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/PYWZ6) reported using PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search of five databases (Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, CINAHL) was conducted, limited from 1989 onwards and in English. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, then full text, with disagreements resolved with a third independent author. Data were extracted, including the frequency and methods of developing students' evaluative judgement across the categories of discerning quality, judgement process, calibration and feedback. A narrative synthesis was performed.

RESULTS

Seventy-one studies were included (n=53 teaching, n=18 assessment). Most of the included studies, included some, but not all, of the features to develop nursing students' evaluative judgment. For teaching methods, the most identified evaluative judgement features in the included studies were discerning quality (n=47), feedback (n=41) and judgement process (n=21). Only three studies included a method of calibration. For the assessment methods, feedback (n=16), discerning quality (n=15), judgement process (n=9) and calibration (n=4) were included. Many clinical practice teaching and assessment methods in nursing included features that develop students' evaluative judgement, with methods relating to discerning quality and feedback well embedded. Further adjustments are required to include methods to assist students to judge and calibrate their own performance.

CONCLUSION

This systematic scoping review identified that evaluative judgement in current nursing clinical teaching and assessment is not an overt aim. With minor adjustment to teaching and assessment design, nursing students could be better supported to develop their ability to judge the value of their own work.

The use of clinical simulation in wound care education for nurses: a scoping review protocol

Many nurse educators consider simulation a valuable tool to supplement and augment learning due to current shortages of clinical placements. Wound care is integral to nursing practice yet many students and practicing nurses experience difficulties in securing sufficient learning opportunities or experience at the undergraduate level to feel competent in providing it. Emerging evidence supports simulation as a promising intervention to facilitate student learning in wound care, building nurses' confidence and competence in providing evidence-based wound care.

OBJECTIVE

To understand how clinical simulation is being used to educate nurses about wound assessment and management, and to explore the impact of clinical simulation on learning outcomes, including knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and skills related to wound care.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

Inclusion criteria include studies of nursing students and nurses, simulation educational interventions, and learning outcomes related to wound care evaluated by any measures. Any studies that do not fit these criteria will be excluded.

METHODS

Databases to be searched include PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, SciELO up to February 2022. Studies in English with a date limit of 2012 to 2022 will be included. Search results will be imported into Covidence and screened by two independent reviewers, first based on the title and abstract and then full text. Data will be extracted with a novel extraction tool developed by the reviewers and then synthesised and presented in narrative, tabular, and/or graphical forms.

DISSEMINATION

The finished scoping review will be published in a scientific journal once analysis is completed.

Learning practical nursing skills in simulation centers - A narrative review

Background

Practical skills are complex procedures integrating communication and caring, as well as technical and manual aspects. Simulation at a simulation/skills center offers a wide range of learning activities and aims to imitate patient situations.

Objectives

To investigate the international research literature on practical skills learning in simulation/skills centers in nursing education. Research questions: 1. What are the range and type of practical skills studied? 2. What learning activities are focused on in the studies included in the review? 3. What are the learning outcomes and how are they assessed?

Design

Narrative review.

Methods

We searched electronically and included studies from Medline Ovid, CINAHL, Eric, Embase, Academic Search Premiere, and Cochrane. Unique indexing terms and search strategies were developed for each database. The criteria for inclusion were bachelor nursing students as the study population and practical nursing skills learning in simulation/skills centers. We used Rayyan QCRIt for the initial screening and the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool for quality assessment. We used a narrative approach to synthesize the diverse range of studies.

Findings

One hundred and twenty-one studies from 26 countries published between January 2013 and March 2022 were included. The amount of quantitative research was overwhelming (n = 108). A total of 50 different practical skills were represented. The studies focused on which learning modalities resulted in the best learning outcomes. Only 8.5% (n = 7) of the included studies concerned students' learning processes. Skill performance (n = 101), knowledge (n = 57), confidence (n = 34), and satisfaction (n = 32) were the main learning outcomes measured.

Discussion

The quality assessment indicated that 10 of the studies achieved 100% on the mixed method appraisal tool criteria. In many of the studies with quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trial designs, the intervention group received some form of educational treatment while the control group received no treatment. The choice of no treatment for the control group in pedagogical research seems to disregard the inherent purpose and effect of teaching and learning.

Conclusion

Heterogeneity in the use of learning modalities and measuring instruments precludes the possibility of building on other research. Technical skills were the preferred choice of skill, while skills that involved a fair measure of communication and collaboration were only sparingly studied. Students' learning processes were barely touched on in the included studies. More focus should be placed on this area in further research, since the choice of learning modalities may affect the students' learning processes in significant ways.

THE USE OF MOULAGE IN CLINICAL SIMULATION: MULTIPLE CASE STUDIES

Objective: identify how and why to use moulage within clinical simulation practices. Method: it is a multiple, inclusive, descriptive and exploratory case study with a qualitative approach. The cases were selected through an intentional sample. After applying the eligibility criteria, four cases of simulated scenarios that used moulage were included and analyzed. Results: all the cases analyzed were developed in extracurricular simulated clinical activities by facilitators with experience in clinical practices, teaching and simulation. The moulages used different techniques, promoting greater interaction with the learner through the use of stimulants of different sense organs, sharpening clinical reasoning, the development of skills, competences, among others. In the four cases, the moulage was performed on a simulated patient, in simulated scenarios and simulated video. The reasons described for moulage were: to provide realism, fidelity, easy application and low cost. Conclusion: it was possible to identify that the moulage is an adequate resource in clinical simulation and that when built with rigor and method, it influences the fidelity and realism of the simulated scenario.

O USO DA MOULAGE NA SIMULAÇÃO CLÍNICA: ESTUDO DE CASOS MÚLTIPLOS

Objetivo:identificar como e porque utilizar a moulage dentro das práticas de simulação clínica. Método: trata-se de estudo de casos múltiplos, inclusivo, de caráter descritivo e exploratório com abordagem qualitativa. Os casos foram selecionados por meio de uma amostra intencional. Após aplicação dos critérios de elegibilidade, foram incluídos e analisados quatro casos de cenários simulados que utilizaram moulage. Resultados: todos os casos analisados foram desenvolvidos em atividades clínicas simuladas extracurriculares por facilitadores com experiência em práticas clínicas, na docência e na área de simulação. As moulages utilizaram técnicas diferentes, promovendo maior interação com o aprendiz pelo uso de estimulantes de diferentes órgãos do sentido, aguçando o raciocínio clínico, o desenvolvimento de habilidades, competências, entre outros. Nos quatro casos, a moulage foi realizada em paciente simulado, em cenários simulados e vídeo simulado. Os motivos descritos para moulage foram: prover realismo, fidelidade, fácil aplicação e baixo custo. Conclusão: foi possível identificar que a moulage é um recurso adequando em simulação clínica e que quando construída com rigor e método, influencia na fidelidade e no realismo do cenário simulado.

Examining the effect of simulation-based learning on intravenous therapy administration' knowledge, performance, and clinical assessment skills of first-year nursing students

BACKGROUND

Most nurses at some point of, or throughout, their career will be involved in infusion care. Therefore, it is important to provide a realistic learning environment to nursing students regarding how to safely practice intravenous (IV) therapy administration.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was examining the effect of simulation-based learning on IV therapy administration knowledge, performance and clinical assessment skills of first-year nursing students.

METHODS

This study was a randomized controlled quasi-experimental study. A total of 62 students was included in the study. The students were randomly assigned to either hybrid simulation (HS) (n = 31) or low fidelity simulation (LFS) (n = 31) groups. In the HS group, each student performed in the standardized patients using moulage, and the LFS group each student was performed with mannequin using visuals. Each of the students' level of IV therapy administration knowledge, performance and clinical assessment and satisfaction and self-confidence score was evaluated.

RESULTS

After the lecture, demonstration and simulation training, there was a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of knowledge (p < 0.05), IV catheter insertion performance in simulation and clinical (p = 0.00; p = 0.00) and clinical assessment to classify IV therapy complications on real patients (p = 0.00). Also, satisfaction and self-confidence scale scores of the students in the HS were significantly higher than in the LFS group (p = 0.00). However, there was no significant difference in simulation design scale scores between the two groups (p = 0.164).

CONCLUSION

The students in the HS group better transferred they had learned in the teaching environment to clinical practice. Also, the results show that creating an effective environment in simulation had a positive effect on the development of the students' clinical skills.