Effect of microlearning wound healing course on nursing students’ clinical reasoning skills

Abstract

Background and Aim: The provision of educational models incorporating active learning strategies is crucial to equip nursing students with the ability to analyze patient situations and deliver appropriate nursing care independently. This study aimed to assess the impact of a microlearning-based wound healing process course on the clinical reasoning skills of nursing students. Methods: This quasi-experimental study, featuring experimental and control groups with single blinding, focused on students enrolled in the Surgical Diseases Nursing course during the fall semesters of 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 at a nursing faculty. The control group received traditional lectures covering wound healing and nursing care, while the experimental group was exposed to microlearning-based video lectures. Then, both groups underwent practical demonstrations and hands-on practice of wound assessment and wound dressing application on a wound model, guided by the instructor. Evaluation of students occurred immediately after the lecture and one month later, utilizing a four-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) with specific stations designed to assess clinical reasoning skills alongside wound assessment and dressing application. A knowledge test was administered to all students before, after, and one month following the course. Additionally, students in the experimental group received microlearning-based video lessons and lectures. Furthermore, students in the experimental group provided evaluations for the microlearning-based video lessons and the associated web software. Results: The study revealed that students in the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher OSCE and knowledge test scores, indicating greater levels of clinical reasoning, proficiency in applying dressing to wounds, ability to evaluate wounds, and overall knowledge compared to the control group after 31 days (p<0.05, with a moderate to large effect size). Conclusion: Based on our study, microlearning-based video lectures exerted a positive influence on students’ clinical reasoning, knowledge, and skills. Key contributing factors included the structured, bite-sized content, interactive and visually engaging format, self-paced learning opportunities, and reinforcement of key concepts through repeated exposure. These results suggest the integration of microlearning-based video lessons into theoretical courses would be a potentially valuable educational tool in nursing education.