Effects of the small private online course combined with simulation-based training in a patient safety education program among nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

Objective

This study aimed to explore the effects of the small private online course (SPOC) combined with simulation-based training in a patient safety education program among nursing students in China.

Methods

A quasi-experimental design was conducted. A total of 219 nursing students from four parallel classes were selected from the nursing department of a health vocational college in Zhengzhou, China, from November 2020 to June 2021 and allocated to the intervention group (n = 113) and control group (n = 106). Based on SPOC, nursing students in the intervention group implemented simulation teaching in small groups, with three class hours each time, a total of two times, divided into three stages: pre-class preparation, teaching implementation, and after-class reflection. The control group received theoretical patient safety education through SPOC, implemented on the DingDing platform for two class hours each time, four times. All participants were invited to complete a demographic questionnaire and the Chinese version of Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation (PSCSE) before and after the intervention.

Results

A total of 103 and 102 students from the intervention and control groups completed the study. The total scores of PSCSE in the post-test of the intervention group (176.24 ± 13.73 vs. 144.64 ± 13.75) and the control group (160.87 ± 14.88 vs. 142.57 ± 15.66) were higher than those in the pre-test (P < 0.01), and the total scores of PSCSE of the intervention group were higher than those of the control group (176.24 ± 13.73 vs. 160.87 ± 14.88, P < 0.01). After intervention, the scores of PSCSE in all dimensions were increased in the intervention group (P < 0.01); in the control group, the scores of patient safety competency in most dimensions were increased (P < 0.01), except for the dimensions of reporting and response to error and communication related to error (P＞ 0.05). Except for the dimensions of knowledge and attitude of error reporting and disclosing (P＞ 0.05), the scores of other dimensions in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

The patient safety education program using the SPOC combined with simulation-based training can effectively improve the patient safety competency of nursing students in terms of attitude, skills, and knowledge.

[Application of the small private online course-based blended teaching model in Human Parasitology teaching]

Small private online course (SPOC), an emerging network-based, student-centered blended teaching model, combines the advantages of online teaching and flipped classroom, aiming to effectively improve students' autonomous learning ability and learning efficiency. Considering a remarkable decline in the course of Human Parasitology, we built an SPOC-based blended teaching model for Human Parasitology, covering pre-course learning, intra-course leaning, post-course consolidation and evaluation, and such a model was applied among grade 2019 students with specialty of clinical medicine. Following the application of the SPOC-based blended teaching model, most students had improvements in autonomous learning ability and activity, and understanding of human parasitology knowledge, and the examination score disparity was avoided.

Application of blended teaching model based on SPOC and TBL in dermatology and venereology

BACKGROUND

In this study, we applied the small private online course (SPOC) and team-based learning (TBL) blended teaching model to dermatology and venereology to ensure a higher quality learning experience for clinical medical students.

METHODS

A total of 52 fifth-grade clinical undergraduates from Xiangya School of Medicine of Central South University were randomly divided into an experimental (n = 26) and a control group (n = 26). In March 2018, we used the SPOC and TBL blended teaching model in the experimental group and explored the effects of innovative teaching in the dermatology and venereology course, compared with the control group receiving the conventional teaching method. We analyzed the two groups' theoretical assessment scores and questionnaire results to evaluate the efficiency of the new pedagogy.

RESULTS

Students in the experimental group had a better understanding than the control group of the dermatology and venereology content and higher scores on the case analysis questions in the final theoretical examination. The results revealed that the majority of the experimental group students agreed that the novel teaching model blended with SPOC&TBL helped them significantly stimulate motivation and develop their ability in self-directed learning, independent thinking, literature retrieval, presentation board, teamwork, communication, and systematic clinical thinking. The teaching satisfaction survey of the two groups showed that the students' satisfaction in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The SPOC&TBL teaching model is better than the traditional one in enriching students' professional knowledge and cultivating their comprehensive ability. It can effectively promote educational quality, improve students' learning effects, and enhance their satisfaction. This method has broad application prospects.