| Description |
Background: Nurses have a long history of difficulty with math (D. L. Brown, 2006). Technology and dimensional analysis (DA) have demonstrated benefits for teaching dosing calculations (Craig & Sellers, 1995; Greenfield, Whelan, & Cohn, 2006; Kohtz & Gowda, 2010; Koohestani & Baghcheghi, 2010; Serembus, 2000; Sherriff, Burston, & Wallis, 2012; Warburton, Sherrington, Kirton, Ryland, & Jinks, 2010), and contextualization improves application to the clinical setting (Ramjan, 2011; Wright, 2010). There are currently no computer-based, realistic, and readily available medication dosing tutorials that include contextualization and DA. This project involved the creation of a computer-based realistic tutorial and assessment for medication dosing, procurement, and preparation and interaction with the medication administration record (MAR) as it relates to oral and injectable medications. Objectives: The objectives for this Doctor of Nursing Practice project include: 1) Create, pilot, and assess a realistic module and integrated assessment for medication dosing, procurement, and preparation and interaction with the MAR as it relates to oral and injectable medications for nursing students in the first semester of an associate program. 2) Disseminate findings with recommendations to nursing faculty at Brigham Young University (BYU)-Idaho and other regional universities. 3) Long-term dissemination to include submission of proposal for presentation at the BYU-Idaho Fall 2014 Faculty Conference on Learning Teaching, submission of an article for a peer-reviewed journal, and submission for presentation at the National League for Nursing Summit 2015. Implementation: IRB exemption was sought and granted from both the University of Utah and BYU - Idaho for this project including the BYU - Idaho pilot and the questionnaire used in the pilot. Implementation includes: 1) Development of the Medication Administration Learning Module (MALM) during the months of August through November 2013 and piloting the module with nursing students at BYU-Idaho in November 2013. 2) Evaluation, via a pre- and post-module self-efficacy (SE) questionnaire and a pre- and post-module medication administration exam (MAE). 3) Presentation of the module and results of the pre-/post-SE scores to BYU-Idaho and regional nursing faculty for consideration of implementation into their curriculum. 4) Submissions of proposal to present at the NLN Summit 2015 and the Fall 2014 BYU-Idaho Faculty Conference and submission of an article for publication, which will all be completed outside the context of this scholarly project. Framework: The Social Ecological Framework, adult and millennial learning theories, and the BYU-Idaho Learning Model provide the theoretical foundation for this project. Findings: The MALM was piloted with first semester nursing students at BYU-Idaho: 23 students completed the module, the pre- and post-SE questionnaire, and the pre- and post-MAE. Statistically significant improvements were seen with the SE questionnaire scores and the MAE scores. Additionally, higher scores were seen with each of the SE questions. |
