Learning in small doses, impact in big ways: Effects of mobile microlearning on patient safety competency in nursing...

To evaluate the effectiveness of mobile-based microlearning in improving nursing students' patient safety competency, including their knowledge, attitudes and skills.

Patient safety competency is a core outcome of nursing education, yet traditional teaching methods often fail to produce sustained gains in safety knowledge, attitudes and skills. Mobile microlearning offers brief, accessible educational content that may enhance learning retention and engagement.

A randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest design.

Seventy nursing students were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 35) or control group (n = 35). The intervention group received a one-month patient safety training program delivered through mobile microlearning, including short videos, infographics and concise educational materials shared via social media platforms. The control group received no training during the study period. Patient safety competency (knowledge, attitude and skill) was assessed using the Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation Questionnaire at baseline and three months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.

The intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in total knowledge, attitude and skill scores (p < 0.001), whereas changes in the control group were minimal and largely non-significant. Post-intervention comparisons showed significantly higher competency scores in the intervention group across all domains (p < 0.001).

Mobile-based microlearning is an effective educational strategy for enhancing patient safety competency among nursing students and may be beneficial for integration into nursing curricula.