Effect of a Web-enhanced Clinical Practicum on Learning Outcome of Adult Nursing Practicum in Nursing Students

This study was conducted to develop Web-based multimedia content that assists undergraduate students in a clinical practicum on adult nursing. The study examined whether students in the intervention group could obtain clinical knowledge and perform more effectively when encouraged to learn Web content as compared with students in the conventional group. Web-based multimedia content consisting of 13 learning modules was developed based on real patients' scenarios through collaboration among college professors. A total of 120 nursing students (74 for the intervention and 46 for the conventional groups) from two universities in G-city, who engaged in a 3-week long clinical practicum in the digestive and respiratory units of a university hospital, participated in the study. Students' knowledge, self-directed learning, and clinical performance ability were measured using self-administered questionnaires. Data for pre- and posttests were collected over a 2-month period, between May and June of 2009. Clinical knowledge and self-reported clinical performance scores were significantly higher in students using the Web-enhanced clinical practicum than in those in the conventional group. However, there was no significant difference in self-directed learning ability between the 2 groups. These results demonstrate that Web-based multimedia content can be an effective educational tool for enhancing students' clinical knowledge and performance.