The effect of self-observation on the self-directed learning ability of nursing students: An experimental study

Abstract

Background: Patients expect nurses to be both tech-nically competent and psychosocially skilled. Enhanc-ing the quality of patient care and patient safety in healthcare settings has increased, resulting in limited opportunities for students to practice clinical skills in healthcare settings. Achieving competence in these skills is viewed as an essential task to be completed during the school curriculum. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of self-observa-tion through cellular recordings as an adjunct to the clinical skills teaching of a blood sugar test to under-graduate nursing. Design: The research design con-sisted of pre-and post-test consecutive experimental design through a control group. Settings: This study targeted nursing students enrolled in baccalaureate programs running in Korea. Participant: The par-ticipants were 64 students including 34 for the ex-perimental group and 30 for the control group. Methods: Those in the control group received stan-dard teaching methods using lectures and skills classes and facilitated the use of self-study methods. Those in the experimental group received standard teaching using lectures and skills classes and facili-tated use of cell phone recorded self-observation. The self-confidence of practicing a blood sugar test, satis-faction with the learning method, self-study partici-pation, level of interest in nursing practice, and self-directed learning ability were measured using ques-tionnaires. Results: Significant between-groups dif-ferences were detected in self-confidence of practicing a blood sugar test (t = 2.067, p = 0.043), satisfaction with the learning method (t = 2.818, p = 0.044), self-study participation (χ² = 7.635, p = 0.022), and aver-age self-directed learning ability (t = 3.202, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Self-observation through cellular phone recordings is an effective learning method as an ad-junct to teach clinical skills.