Gender Differences in Psychological Safety, Academic Safety, Cognitive Load, and Debriefing Satisfaction in Simulation-Based Learning

Abstract

Background: As there is an increasing trend in the number of male-identifying learners in undergraduate nursing education, a need exists to identify the gender differences in learners’ perceptions regarding simulation-based learning. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the gender differences in psychological safety, academic safety, cognitive load, and debriefing satisfaction in simulation-based nursing education. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was implemented with 97 female and 95 male nursing students. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests or independent-samples t tests. Results: Female nursing students reported a lower academic safety and higher intrinsic load than male nursing students. Male nursing students perceived a higher germane load than female nursing students. Conclusions: The significance of the present study was the identification of gender differences in participant perception of the simulation learning experience for effective simulation design.