The Impact of Virtual Patient Education on Enhancing Clinical Reasoning in Nursing Students

Abstract

Background: This study investigated the effect of Virtual Patient (VP) education on improving Clinical Reasoning (CR) skills among nursing students, addressing a major challenge in nursing education, particularly within the context of an oncology course. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental, two-group, pretest-posttest study was conducted in 2021 at the School of Nursing of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. A total of 148 fourth- and fifth-semester nursing students were selected through a census sampling method. After obtaining informed consent, the subjects were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. After the pretest, five VPs (cancer module), designed and validated by eight nursing experts, were provided to the intervention group for 6 weeks, followed by a posttest. Data collection tools included two series of 23-item tests (KF) designed to assess CR skills, with a CVI = 0.94 and CVR = 0.84. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software using correlation tests and t-tests. Results: The mean (SD) of pretest scores was 25.01 (2.51) in the intervention group and 25.03 (2.71) in the control group, with no significant difference (p > 0.05). After training, posttest scores increased significantly in the intervention group, 32.22 (3.47), compared to the control group, 25.18 (2.47) (p <= 0.05). The intervention group showed significant improvement from pretest to posttest (p <= 0.05). Conclusions: The use of VPs in nursing education can effectively improve students CR skills and provide a foundation for enhancing nursing education.