Abstract
Background
The management of patients’ holistic symptom needs are often complex and challenging. The education needs of undergraduate nursing students must be optimally addressed to have a significant positive impact on patient care. Mobile spaced learning has been recognised as a form of online education which can provide a novel approach to delivering effective evidence based healthcare education to undergraduate students.
Objective
The objective of this pilot study was to explore the experiences of undergraduate nursing students in a university setting, of using mobile spaced learning as a digital platform for symptom management education.
Method
This pilot study used a mixed methods approach. Online spaced learning material, which utilised both case based scenarios and multiple choice questions, was delivered to first year undergraduate nursing students over a period of 2 weeks. Participants were then invited to participate in an online survey related to the usability of mobile spaced learning. A focus group was conducted to further explore the participants’ views.
Result
Findings conveyed that students viewed mobile spaced learning as an acceptable platform that enhanced both their learning and their ability to transfer knowledge into clinical practice.
Conclusion
Implementation of a digital spaced learning intervention would be acceptable to undergraduate nursing students learning about holistic symptom management. Further research is needed to explore the feasibility of implementing this intervention within the undergraduate nursing curriculum, and also to explore the impact on long-term knowledge retention.
The management of patients’ holistic symptom needs are often complex and challenging. The education needs of undergraduate nursing students must be optimally addressed to have a significant positive impact on patient care. Mobile spaced learning has been recognised as a form of online education which can provide a novel approach to delivering effective evidence based healthcare education to undergraduate students.
Objective
The objective of this pilot study was to explore the experiences of undergraduate nursing students in a university setting, of using mobile spaced learning as a digital platform for symptom management education.
Method
This pilot study used a mixed methods approach. Online spaced learning material, which utilised both case based scenarios and multiple choice questions, was delivered to first year undergraduate nursing students over a period of 2 weeks. Participants were then invited to participate in an online survey related to the usability of mobile spaced learning. A focus group was conducted to further explore the participants’ views.
Result
Findings conveyed that students viewed mobile spaced learning as an acceptable platform that enhanced both their learning and their ability to transfer knowledge into clinical practice.
Conclusion
Implementation of a digital spaced learning intervention would be acceptable to undergraduate nursing students learning about holistic symptom management. Further research is needed to explore the feasibility of implementing this intervention within the undergraduate nursing curriculum, and also to explore the impact on long-term knowledge retention.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0269633 |
| Journal | PLoS One |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 08 Jun 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:CV received the funding from the Martha Mc Menamin Memorial fund. Funders did not play a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors wish to thank all the participants who took the time to participate in this study.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2022 Mc Veigh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General