School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Sweden.
Nurse Educ Today. 2011 Nov;31(8):757-62. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2010.11.015. Epub 2010 Dec 14.
In different nursing programmes, one important learning outcome is clinical reasoning (CR) skills. However, to date, there is limited number of methods available for assessment of CR skills; especially for distance-based courses. This study investigates students' opinions about the feasibility of using Virtual Patients (VPs) for assessing CR in nursing education. VPs were introduced as an assessment tool in three different nursing courses at two universities, comprising 77 students in total. Students' overall acceptance of this assessment tool, including its applicability to the practise of nursing and the potential of VP-based assessment as a learning experience, were investigated using questionnaires. Course directors used the Web-SP system to assess students' interactions with VPs and their answers regarding diagnoses, caring procedures and their justifications. Students' found the VP cases to be realistic and engaging, and indicate a high level of acceptance for this assessment method. In addition, the students' indicated that VPs were good for practising their clinical skills, although some would prefer that the VP system be less "medical" and asked for more focus on nursing. Although most students supplied correct diagnoses and made adequate clinical decisions, there was a wide range in their ability to explain their clinical reasoning processes.
在不同的护理课程中，一个重要的学习成果是临床推理 (CR) 技能。然而，迄今为止，用于评估 CR 技能的方法数量有限；特别是对于基于远程的课程。本研究调查了学生对使用虚拟患者 (VP) 评估护理教育中 CR 的可行性的看法。在两所大学的三门不同护理课程中引入了 VP 作为评估工具，共有 77 名学生参与。使用问卷调查了学生对这种评估工具的总体接受程度，包括其对护理实践的适用性以及基于 VP 的评估作为学习体验的潜力。课程主任使用 Web-SP 系统评估学生与 VP 的互动以及他们对诊断、护理程序及其理由的回答。学生认为 VP 案例真实且引人入胜，并表示高度接受这种评估方法。此外，学生表示 VP 有助于练习他们的临床技能，尽管有些学生希望 VP 系统不那么“医学化”，并要求更多关注护理。尽管大多数学生提供了正确的诊断并做出了适当的临床决策，但他们解释临床推理过程的能力存在很大差异。
