Differences between manual and computer-based methods for clinical learning assignments

Two methods of assigning nursing students to clinical learning settings were compared for accuracy and speed. The first, a manually prepared method, was based on student preferences and experiential knowledge of nursing faculty. The second, a computer program designed for the project, used decision rules derived from ratings of student learning capabilities and ratings of the perceived demand for such capabilities by clinical settings. Ratings were assigned numerical values and were processed by the computer to obtain the best matches between students and settings. The same ratings were applied to the hand-prepared method after this assignment was completed. Comparison of the results showed that the best fit (least total numerical differences) between students and settings for the whole class was found by the computer, indicating that the computer method was superior. A completely randomized computer assignment that was run as an added source for comparison was much less effective than the assignment completed by hand, suggesting that human decision-making is an important factor in making clinical assignments. In terms of speed, 5.5 hours were used to prepare an assignment by hand and to make an adjustment; the computer completed the assigning task in less than 3 minutes. An alternate computing algorithm, used subsequently, completed the task in 3 seconds. The authors concluded that human judgment is necessary in making clinical assignments, but use of a tailored computer matching program can improve the quality of the decision making and can reduce the time and energy spent on this task.