Development and effects of a labor nursing education program using a high-fidelity simulator for nursing students

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of an education program using a high-fidelity simulator of labor and delivery on nursing knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical performance among nursing students. Methods: In this randomized controlled study, data were collected from October 21 to December 9, 2019. To verify the effects of the program, 36 nursing students in the experimental group participated in a high-fidelity simulation program, whereas 36 students in the control group received the standard education on this topic. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation), the chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and t-test. Results: In the experimental group, in which participants received education using the high-fidelity simulation program, nursing knowledge (t=2.33, p=.011), critical thinking (t=3.73, p<.001), and clinical performance (t=2.53, p=.006) were significantly higher than in the control group. Conclusion: High-fidelity simulation-based nursing education was useful for improving nursing knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical performance among nursing students.