Effects of reflective learning based on visual mind mapping in the fundamentals of nursing course: A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that reflective learning and mind mapping have many advantages in nursing education, but the relevant researches on the joint application of the two strategies are very limited. OBJECTIVES: To confirm the efficacy of reflective learning based on visual mind mapping for educational purposes to support the critical thinking, academic self-efficacy, and professional self-concept of nursing students. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest model. SETTINGS: A nursing college in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty 2nd year baccalaureate nursing students in two parallel classes were assigned to an intervention group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 40) with one class for each group. METHODS: This study was carried out from September 15 to November 30, 2021. The Chinese version of Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI-CV), the Chinese version of Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASE-CV), and the Chinese version of Professional Self-Concept of Nurses Instrument (PSCNI-CV) were used to evaluate the effects of the study intervention on nursing students. Firstly, the pretest data were collected from students in the two groups. Then, the intervention group students made regular reflective entries based on mind mapping and the control group students conducted traditional reflective journal, while attending routine educational and clinical activities, about their experiences of the Fundamentals of Nursing course learning process. After the intervention, both groups completed the three scale tests again, and an open-ended question was set for intervention group to explore the difficulties or challenges encountered by students. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test, and content analysis were performed. RESULTS: There were no significant baseline demographic variables differences between the two groups. The intervention group showed significant improvement in critical thinking (P = 0.000), including truth-seeking, open-mindedness, analyticity, systematization, and inquisitiveness sub-dimensions (P = 0.000-0.014), and professional self-concept (P = 0.015), including flexibility and satisfaction sub-dimensions (P = 0.015-0.039), as compared to the baseline. There was no significant difference in students' academic self-efficacy level between pretest and posttest of the two groups. Compared to the total level of critical thinking between the intervention and the control group, the difference median values (posttest score-pretest score) were 14.0 and 1.5 respectively; and for professional self-concept, were 4.5 and 0.5 respectively, which were statistically significant at P < 0.05 level (P = 0.001-0.020). According to open-ended question survey, difficulties or challenges faced by the intervention group students were mainly problem of charting mind mapping, unfamiliar with tools, problem of mentors' guidance, and time-consuming. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that it is appropriate for students to adopt reflective learning based on visual mind mapping. Although there were no significant differences in the improvement level of students' academic self-efficacy, students' critical thinking and professional self-concept were greatly improved by the intervention. This approach may be used as a complementary learning method for baccalaureate nursing education.

Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on the mental health of university students in Sichuan Province, China: An online cross-sectional study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 is an emerging public health problem threatening not only the life but also the normal psychology of people. University students' mental health is the focus in the field of higher education. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has brought into attention the mental health problems of this vulnerable group. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on the mental health of university students in Sichuan Province, China. We conducted a cross-sectional study from April 2020 to May 2020. The participants responded to an online questionnaire that included informed consent, basic information, 20-item Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). We received 521 effective responses. The results included the following: 19.0% of respondents reported distress, and 31.5%, 8.1%, and 5.8% of them reported mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively; respondents aged ≤ 22 years, medical students, and those who were in general health reported more distress than others; and medical students and those who paid more attention to pandemic information reported more anxiety than others. Findings suggest that the mental health of university students should be monitored during pandemic, especially for younger students, medical students, students in general health status, and those who paid too much attention to the news of the pandemic. Due to the limited sample representativeness, we must be cautious when generalizing these findings to other regions of China or other countries.

Effectiveness of a training program based on maker education for baccalaureate nursing students: A quasi-experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: Maker education is a dominant force in education reform and is viewed as a revolutionary way to learn. As innovative pedagogy is continuously explored in the field of nursing, the emerging role of maker education must be examined. This research aims to build a nursing bachelor education program based on maker education and to evaluate the effectiveness of this program. METHODS: Forty volunteer junior students majoring in nursing from a college were the subjects for this quasi-experiment. The training program for nursing students based on maker education was developed and implemented as an additional class for a period of 12 weeks. Before and after the experiment, two measures including the "Williams Creative Scale" and "Current Status Questionnaire of Nursing Students' Learning" were adopted for investigation, and corresponding statistical methods were used for analysis. The degree of satisfaction with this training program was investigated after the experiment. RESULTS: The average scores of creativity, learning interest, cooperative learning skill, scientific research ability, and information attainment of the nursing students after the implementation of maker education all improved. The differences in the above points before and after the experiment were all statistically significant (P < 0.05). Most of the students expressed satisfaction with this training program (72.5% were very satisfied, 15.0% were partially satisfied, and 12.5% were not satisfied). CONCLUSION: Implementing the training program based on maker education enhanced student creativity, learning interest, cooperative learning skill, scientific research ability, and information attainment. Comprehensive nursing talents were also cultivated. Our data suggested the importance of improving this program, adopting the method, and pursuing research in nursing education.