Effects of Twitter use on academic performance and satisfaction in a pathophysiology course among Omani nursing students: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students often find bioscience courses, such as pathophysiology, challenging. Utilizing Twitter to provide concise course content and answer students' questions before exams may be beneficial. The objective of this study was to determine if using Twitter can improve nursing students' academic performance and satisfaction with pathophysiology courses. METHODS: A post-test, two-group quasi-experimental research design was employed in this study. It involved second-year Bachelor of Nursing students participating in a pathophysiology course at the College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, in Muscat, Oman. Seventy-three second-year Bachelor of Nursing students participated in the pathophysiology course; 50 students opted to use Twitter, forming the experimental group, while the remaining 23, who chose not to use Twitter, formed the control group. We used Twitter to provide concise course content for the pathophysiology course and conduct one-hour question-and-answer sessions the night before exams. Academic performance was assessed through examination scores, and student satisfaction levels with Twitter was measured using five-point Likert scale questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney and t-tests. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference in final exam scores between the experimental and control groups, survey results showed that students were generally satisfied with the incorporation of Twitter in the pathophysiology course, including the question-and-answer sessions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Twitter can serve as a valuable tool for enhancing nursing student satisfaction with the pathophysiology course.

Flipped classroom improves Omani nursing students performance and satisfaction in anatomy and physiology.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students struggle with anatomy and physiology course because of the complicated terminology and the difficulty in handling large amounts of information. New, innovative instructional strategies must be integrated into nursing education to improve nursing students' performance in this challenging bioscience course. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of an innovative teaching strategy, the flipped classroom, on the performance and satisfaction of Omani nursing students in an anatomy and physiology course. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used with two classes of 112 first-year nursing students at the College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Online videos and active-learning activities about the respiratory system were developed and implemented in an anatomy and physiology course with 53 first-semester nursing students. The control group consisted of a previous cohort of 59 students enrolled in the same course but taught with a traditional lecture approach. The impact of the flipped classroom strategy was measured by students' performance on the final examination and students' self-reported satisfaction. Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare students' academic performance. RESULTS: Our results showed that the performance of the flipped classroom group was better than that of the traditional lecture group. The mean scores of students instructed with the flipped classroom method on the respiratory system items in the final examination were significantly higher than those of the control group, U = 1089.00, z = - 2.789, p < .005. Moreover, the results of a survey showed that nursing students were satisfied with the flipped classroom method. Overall, 68 to 78% of students agreed or strongly agreed that the flipped classroom method improved their learning and increased their interest in the course. CONCLUSION: Compared with the didactic lecture format, flipped classroom strategy improved Omani nursing students' performance in and satisfaction with an anatomy and physiology course. These results show that the flipped classroom is an important teaching strategy in nursing education.

Nursing Work Environment, Turnover Intention, Job Burnout, and Quality of Care: The Moderating Role of Job Satisfaction.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to assess predictors of the turnover intention, burnout, and perceived quality of care among nurses working in Oman, and (b) to examine the potential moderating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between work environment and nurse turnover intention. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from a sample of 207 nurses working in a public hospital in Muscat, Oman. METHODS: An electronic survey was used to assess nurses' perceptions of work environment, burnout, job satisfaction, turnover intention, and quality of care. FINDINGS: Participation in hospital affairs, a foundation for quality of care, and staffing adequacy were predictors of burnout among nurses and perceived quality of care. Logistic regression analysis revealed that working in a favorable environment was associated with less turnover intention, but only when job satisfaction was high. CONCLUSIONS: Improving nurse job satisfaction is a mechanism through which future interventions could enhance working conditions and promote better nurse retention. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Organizational strategies are needed to increase nurse job satisfaction by empowering nurses to take more active roles in hospital affairs as a strategy to reduce turnover intention and enhance the quality of patient care.

Knowledge and Competency of Novice Nursing Students in Nasogastric Tube Feeding: Is Simulation Better than Case Scenario?

OBJECTIVES: As the millennial generation enters the nursing profession, simulation takes on a key role in effective pedagogy. We sought to examine the efficacy of simulation versus case scenario as a teaching method for novice nursing students in the skill of nasogastric tube (NGT) feeding. We assessed the knowledge, competency, self-confidence, and satisfaction among these nursing students. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was used to compare the efficacy of simulation and case scenarios in promoting knowledge, clinical competency, self-learning, and self-confidence among novice nursing students in the Middle East. The study sample included 69 students registered for the Fundamentals of Nursing Laboratory course at the College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, during the spring and fall 2016 semesters. Thirty-five students were assigned to the intervention group and attended a simulation, while 34 students were assigned to the control group and were given the standard case scenario used in teaching this course. The competency of the students on NGT feeding skill was measured after a simulation or case scenario. RESULTS: In both groups, the majority of students were ≤ 20 years old, female, hailed from rural areas, and had a cumulative grade point average of > 2.5. Data showed a significant improvement in the mean scores of competency between the intervention and control groups (t (67) = 3.869, p < 0.001) suggesting that simulation was effective in gaining competency compared to the case scenario. There was a positive statistical significance between satisfaction and self-confidence among the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: Simulation has an effective role in clinical education for teaching practical skills. However, in this study, there was a statistically significant difference in the mean scores between the two methods of teaching. This helped us to conclude that competency gained by novice students' learning a skill through simulation, was better than the competency gained through case scenario. We recommend simulation as an effective pedagogy among novice nursing students. KEYWORDS: Self Confidence; Female; Students, Nursing; Clinical Competence; Personal Satisfaction; Oman; Enteral Nutrition; Learning.

Beneficial Effects of ragi (Finger Millet) on Hematological Parameters, Body Mass Index, and Scholastic Performance among Anemic Adolescent High-School Girls (AHSG).

Adolescence is a period characterized by rapid physical, emotional, and mental growth and changes potentially resulting in health challenges. Anemia, which is a fairly common complication in this age group, is reported to negatively affect the cognitive ability of adolescents. Traditionally, ragi (Finger millet: Eleusine coracana), a cereal available in India, has been recommended as nutritional supplement to combat anemia because of its high protein and mineral content as well as anti-microbial property. This study sought to establish the effect of ragi in improving hematological parameters, body mass index, and scholastic performance among adolescent school girls. Sixty adolescent girls were randomly selected and divided into intervention (n = 30) and control groups (n = 30). The effect of dietary supplementation of ragi porridge on hematological parameters was evaluated on the intervention group at 45 and 90 days. Both groups were monitored for changes in body mass index and scholastic performance. A statistically significant increase in hemoglobin levels was observed in the intervention group after 90 days (from a mean of 11.3 g% to 12.54 g%; t (29) = 7.514, p < .0001), with no significant changes in the control group. No statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed for mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, red cell distribution width, body mass index, and scholastic performance. The data show that daily dietary supplementation with ragi porridge has a positive effect on hemoglobin levels in adolescent high schools girls. A well planned nutrition education with dietary supplementation is thus recommended for better outcomes.

Psychometric Properties of an Arabic Version of the Patient Satisfaction With Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Quality measurements are crucial to healthcare quality improvement, and patient satisfaction with nursing care is widely adopted as a key outcome indicator of the overall quality of healthcare. There is a lack of instruments to measure patient satisfaction with nursing care in an Arabic context. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an Arabic version of the Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire and to explore patient satisfaction with nursing care across hospital units. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, methodological research study. A forward-backward translation process and face and content validation using a panel of experts and a pilot test were used to produce an Arabic version of the Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire. A convenience sampling technique was employed to recruit 292 adult patients who were hospitalized for more than 48 hours. Data were collected over the first quarter of 2016 using a secure electronic survey method. RESULTS: The item-level content validity index ranged from .83 to 1, and the scale-level content validity index was .94. Evidence of construct validity was obtained. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor model that explained 69.3% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor model fits the observed data. Internal consistency was satisfactory and similar across different hospital units. Cronbach's alpha estimates for Factors 1 and 2 were .83 and .96, respectively, with an overall Cronbach's alpha estimate of .96. Level of patient satisfaction with nursing care was quite high (mean = 4.30/5, SD = 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a 17-item, Likert-scaled, self-reporting instrument, which is psychometrically sound for its content, comprehension, readability, and practicality, to measure patient satisfaction with nursing care quality in an Arabic context.

Awareness of palliative care among diploma nursing students.

BACKGROUND: The goal of palliative care is not to cure, but to provide comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains. The knowledge of nurses influences the quality of care provided to these patients. The present study aimed at identifying the level of knowledge and attitude of nursing students who are the future caretakers of patients, which helps to make recommendations in incorporating palliative care concepts in the nursing curriculum. OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess the level of knowledge of nursing students on palliative care; (2) To identify the attitude of nursing students towards palliative care; (3) To find the correlation between the knowledge and attitude of nursing students; (4) To find the association between nursing students' knowledge, attitude and selected demographic variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A correlative survey was carried out among 83 third-year Diploma Nursing students by using cluster sampling method from selected nursing schools of Udupi district. RESULTS: The data analyzed showed that the majority (51%) of them was in the age group of 21years and 92% of them were females. Only 43.4% of them were aware of the term palliative care and it was during their training period. The data showed that 79.5% of students had poor knowledge (6.4± 1.64) on palliative care and 92.8% of them had favorable attitude (56.7± 8.5) towards palliative care. The chi-square showed a significant association between knowledge and age (χ(2)=18.52,P<0.01) of the nursing students. CONCLUSION: Palliative care aspects should be incorporated in the diploma nursing curriculum.