Beyond the Dedicated Education Unit: Using Cognitive Load Theory to Guide Clinical Placement

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Cognitive Load Theory
• Clinical Learning Environments

Background:

• Navigating multiple instructors and clinical agencies increases student cognitive load and stress.
• This can negatively impact student learning in medical-surgical clinical courses.
• The home base clinical model (HBCM) was developed based on cognitive load theory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the HBCM in reducing student perceived stress.
• To compare the HBCM with traditional models involving changing instructors or hospital units.
• To assess the impact of HBCM on student learning by managing cognitive load.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental, three-group design was employed.
• 140 participants were recruited for the study.
• Perceived stress was measured using a 10-point visual analog scale across nine clinical tasks.

Main Results:

• The HBCM groups exhibited greater reductions in mean perceived stress compared to control groups.
• Students in the HBCM experienced less stress when remaining with the same faculty and hospital unit.
• Findings indicate a significant decrease in stress levels for students under the HBCM.

Conclusions:

• The HBCM is a potentially effective model for nursing education.
• Decreasing cognitive load and stress through HBCM can enhance student learning.
• Current practices of rotating students should be reconsidered in favor of more stable clinical placements.