Comparing the Effects of Simulation-Based and Traditional Teaching Methods on the Critical Thinking Abilities and Self-Confidence of Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Critical thinking and self-confidence are imperative to success in clinical practice. Educators should use teaching strategies that will help students enhance their critical thinking and self-confidence in complex content such as electrocardiogram interpretation. Therefore, teaching electrocardiogram interpretation to students is important for nurse educators. PURPOSE: This study compares the effect of simulation-based and traditional teaching methods on the critical thinking and self-confidence of students during electrocardiogram interpretation sessions. METHODS: Thirty undergraduate nursing students volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were divided into intervention and control groups, which were taught respectively using the simulation-based and traditional teaching programs. All of the participants were asked to complete the study instrumentpretest and posttest to measure their critical thinking and self-confidence. RESULTS: Improvement was observed in the control and experimental groups with respect to critical thinking and self-confidence, as evidenced by the results of the paired samples t test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < .05). However, the independent t test and Mann-Whitney U test indicate that the difference between the two groups was not significant (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study evaluated an innovative simulation-based teaching method for nurses. No significant differences in outcomes were identified between the simulator-based and traditional teaching methods, indicating that well-implemented educational programs that use either teaching method effectively promote critical thinking and self-confidence in nursing students. Nurse educators are encouraged to design educational plans with clear objectives to improve the critical thinking and self-confidence of their students. Future research should compare the effects of several teaching sessions using each method in a larger sample.

Organizational Commitment and Nurses' Characteristics as Predictors of Job Involvement.

OBJECTIVE: To predict nurses' job involvement on the basis of their organizational commitment and personal characteristics at a large tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. DATA SOURCES: Data were collected in 2015 from a convenience sample of 558 nurses working at a large tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional correlational design was used in this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: All commitment scales had significant relationships. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the model predicted a sizeable proportion of variance in nurses' job involvement (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High organizational commitment enhances job involvement, which may lead to more organizational stability and effectiveness.