Comparison of the effectiveness of tutored videotape instruction versus traditional lecture for a basic hemodynamic monitoring course.

As nurse educators find themselves faced with increasing responsibilities and as nursing administrators seek to use nurse educators in the most cost-effective, resource-efficient manner, alternatives to the traditional lecture must be sought. Tutored videotape instruction is an educational method in which a tutor serves to clarify points of confusion and to stimulate discussion during a videotape presentation. Using a hierarchal nested research design, there were no significant differences in participant preference or posttest knowledge scores between the methods. As a result, tutored videotape instruction was adopted as an acceptable educational method. In addition, tutored videotape instruction can serve as a developmental tool for RN preceptors as tutors and for newly hired critical care educators.