Development and evaluation of a virtual learning environment in professional nursing courses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Technology
• Health Sciences

Background:

• Effective medication administration is crucial for patient safety in nursing.
• Traditional teaching methods may not fully engage students in complex medication administration skills.
• There is a need for innovative educational tools to enhance nursing education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for teaching medication administration.
• To assess the VLE's alignment with educational objectives in a professional nursing course.
• To measure the impact of the VLE on student learning outcomes.

Main Methods:

• The VLE development involved three phases: guide development, implementation and assessment, and learning evaluation.
• The VLE was implemented in a professional nursing course in Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
• Student learning was assessed through a knowledge-based evaluation.

Main Results:

• Program evaluations confirmed the VLE met its intended educational goals.
• Students achieved an 85% average score on the learning assessment questions.
• The VLE demonstrated suitability as an educational technology for nursing students.

Conclusions:

• The developed Virtual Learning Environment is an effective educational technology for medication administration training.
• This VLE can significantly contribute to the teaching-learning process in nursing.
• The creation of such technologies supports the development of competent future nursing professionals.