Opening minds. Values clarification via electronic meetings

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Policy Development
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Values clarification is a complex challenge in nursing education.
• Traditional classroom settings often present barriers to student participation and growth.
• Electronic meeting software offers potential solutions to these educational hurdles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of electronic meeting software in nursing education.
• To explore how technology can overcome barriers to student engagement in values clarification.
• To assess the impact of personal values on health policy development within a graduate nursing course.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of electronic meeting software in a graduate nursing classroom.
• Utilizing the software's anonymity feature to mitigate fear of censorship.
• Leveraging parallel communication capabilities to control monopolization by dominant students.
• Observing student involvement and participation during discussions.

Main Results:

• Anonymity effectively reduced inhibitions related to fear of censorship.
• Parallel communication features minimized monopolization by dominant participants.
• The electronic meeting software fostered universal student involvement in the learning process.
• Students demonstrated a greater understanding of the link between personal values and health policy.

Conclusions:

• Electronic meeting software is an effective tool for enhancing nursing education.
• This technology successfully overcomes common barriers to student participation and growth.
• The innovative application promotes deeper understanding of values' role in health policy.