Enhancing students’ confidence, competence and knowledge with Integrated Skills Challenge

Enhancing students’ confidence, competence and knowledge with Integrated Skills Challenge

Introduction/background:
In today's complex healthcare environment, new nursing graduates are expected to master nursing skills in a timely manner and become critical thinkers with the capacity of solving complex healthcare problems efficiently. The increased complexity of the clinical setting requires competence-building begin in introductory courses, establishing foundational skills for critical thinking and prioritisation. In the healthcare professions, teaching and learning methods are focused on integration of clinical knowledge and skills. However, traditional teaching and learning methodologies do not always facilitate the development of a requisite level of these clinical skills. For the Master of Nursing Studies (MNSt) students whose program is shortened this means the acquisition of these skills must be achieved more rapidly.

Aim/objectives:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of developing simulation scenarios (Integrated Skill Challenge [ISC]) as a supplemental teaching-learning strategy to enhance the transfer of student self-confidence and competence to the clinical nursing environment.

Methods
To examine potential effects of ISC on the MNSt students, a pilot study was conducted including 52 participants. Data were collected weekly over 11 week period by using pre and post-test design.

Results:
Analysis showed a significant increase in the confidence, competence and knowledge. Confidence, competence and knowledge scores increased when students were pre-loaded with knowledge prior to performing in the ISC. Results generally indicated that the ISC had the anticipated effects.

Conclusions:
This study reveals a high feasibility of developing simulation scenarios as an active learning methodology and that it should be developed further and piloted on a larger sample.

Abstract presentation 146.