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.

Jordanian University Students' Lived Experience of Misusing Amphetamine (Captagon): A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Substance misuse is a growing problem among Jordanian university students. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of university students who misuse Captagon (amphetamines). METHODS: The interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology was used. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 Jordanian university students, aged 17-22 years, who were using Captagon (amphetamines) for the last 6 months. RESULTS: Three major themes detailed participants' experiences with Captagon: (a) causes for use, (b) effects of taking amphetamines, and (c) seeking help behaviors and support. Participants who experienced academic and personal stress sought help from friends, who provided them with Captagon pills as a way to overcome their life challenges. Initially, taking Captagon provided participants with a sense of control, but it did not solve their problems. Later or as the days passed by, they experienced increased level of stress, felt disorganized in a way that they missed classes, and were being socially isolated. Participants finally sought community help for their problem, but this was difficult because of stigmatizing attitudes in their community toward substance misuse. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing university students' knowledge about the negative consequences of substance misuse and raising awareness of strategies to address the problem will help young people to make more informed choices, because today's young generation are tomorrow's citizens.

Case Study Analysis as an Effective Teaching Strategy: Perceptions of Undergraduate Nursing Students From a Middle Eastern Country.

Background: Case study analysis is an active, problem-based, student-centered, teacher-facilitated teaching strategy preferred in undergraduate programs as they help the students in developing critical thinking skills. Objective: It determined the effectiveness of case study analysis as an effective teacher-facilitated strategy in an undergraduate nursing program. Methodology: A descriptive qualitative research design using focus group discussion method guided the study. The sample included undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Maternal Health Nursing Course during the Academic Years 2017 and 2018. The researcher used a purposive sampling technique and a total of 22 students participated in the study, through five (5) focus groups, with each focus group comprising between four to six nursing students. Results: In total, nine subthemes emerged from the three themes. The themes were "Knowledge development", "Critical thinking and Problem solving", and "Communication and Collaboration". Regarding "Knowledge development", the students perceived case study analysis method as contributing toward deeper understanding of the course content thereby helping to reduce the gap between theory and practice especially during clinical placement. The "Enhanced critical thinking ability" on the other hand implies that case study analysis increased student's ability to think critically and aroused problem-solving interest in the learners. The "Communication and Collaboration" theme implies that case study analysis allowed students to share their views, opinions, and experiences with others and this enabled them to communicate better with others and to respect other's ideas which further enhanced their team building capacities. Conclusion: This method is effective for imparting professional knowledge and skills in undergraduate nursing education and it results in deeper level of learning and helps in the application of theoretical knowledge into clinical practice. It also broadened students' perspectives, improved their cooperation capacity and their communication with each other. Finally, it enhanced student's judgment and critical thinking skills which is key for their success.

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.

The Lived Experiences of Mothers Who Are Parenting Children With Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Mothers parenting children with leukemia face innumerable challenges in meeting their own personal needs, as well as the needs of their ill child. OBJECTIVE: To explore the lived experiences of Omani mothers who are parenting children with leukemia, using interpretative phenomenological analysis design. METHODS: Data were collected from 10 mothers who were parenting children with leukemia who shared their experiences through a face-to-face recorded interview. Data were analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis approach methods. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged from the mothers' experiences: (1) unexpected shocking diagnosis; (2) life is not the same anymore; and (3) viable support systems. Mothers found their child's diagnosis to be shocking and terrifying. The diagnosis and treatment cast a shadow on the mothers' lives. Mothers abandoned their work and left their healthy children to their spouses. Mothers relied on other mothers also parenting children with cancer and on the support of the extended family and health team members to cope and prayed to God to help them overcome the calamity. CONCLUSION: The mothers perceived their life as changing immediately upon hearing their child's cancer diagnosis as they experienced a plethora of emotions. They sought support at various points during their child's illness to cope and overcome the challenges during the cancer treatment journey. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Pediatric oncology nurses can support mothers during their transition to caring for a child with leukemia and can provide the needed support to reduce maternal distress and increase effective coping with the challenges.

Effect of pre-operative instruction on anxiety among women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy.

Women's health and hysterectomies have a direct bearing on their mental and emotional responses, as their reproductive system gets affected or removed. Abdominal hysterectomy is said to engender more stress and anxiety than other comparable surgeries. Providing pre-operative information on surgery is essential in reducing anxiety before surgery for positive post-operative outcomes. In this quasi-experimental study conducted to evaluate effectiveness of pre-operative instruction on anxiety among women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy for non-malignant conditions in multispecialty hospital, Bangalore, 60 women were selected by purposive sampling method and assigned to experimental and control groups. On day 2 of admission pre-test anxiety was assessed and experimental group was given 45 minutes instructional session whereas control group did not receive pre-operative instruction. Assessment of post-test anxiety was done after 24 hours of surgery. The results showed significant reduction in anxiety (p < 0.001) of women in the experimental group who received pre-operative instruction.