Designing and evaluating an interactive multimedia web-based simulation for developing nurses' competencies in acute nursing care: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Web-based learning is becoming an increasingly important instructional tool in nursing education. Multimedia advancements offer the potential for creating authentic nursing activities for developing nursing competency in clinical practice. Objective: This study aims to describe the design, development, and evaluation of an interactive multimedia Web-based simulation for developing nurses' competencies in acute nursing care. Methods: Authentic nursing activities were developed in a Web-based simulation using a variety of instructional strategies including animation video, multimedia instructional material, virtual patients, and online quizzes. A randomized controlled study was conducted on 67 registered nurses who were recruited from the general ward units of an acute care tertiary hospital. Following a baseline evaluation of all participants' clinical performance in a simulated clinical setting, the experimental group received 3 hours of Web-based simulation and completed a survey to evaluate their perceptions of the program. All participants were re-tested for their clinical performances using a validated tool. Results: The clinical performance posttest scores of the experimental group improved significantly (P