The effects of web-based instruction on drug dose calculation skills of nursing students

This study was conducted according to the pre-test / post-test control group design in order to examine effects of web-based instruction on drug dose calculation skills of nursing students. The research was carried out with a total of 95 second grade students (control group: 45, intervention group: 50) from the Ege University Nursing Faculty who had internet access and agreed to participate in the research. The "Introductory Information Form (TIF)" and "Drug Dose Calculation Skill Test (DDCST)" were used in the data collection process. The designed web-site content was prepared as a booklet in the first place. Data collection tools have been updated according to expert opinions and pre-application evaluations. The web-site including web-based instruction materials, was prepared according to the latest version of the booklet by getting web design and video-audio support. The students in the control and intervention group were applied DDCST pre-test before the learning process. Then, students in the control group learned about drug dose calculations in the classroom through traditional instruction method, while students in the intervention group used the prepared web-based instruction materials for 10 days along with traditional instruction method. When the learning processes were completed, DDCST post-test was applied to the students in both groups. Descriptive statistical analyzes, paired samples t test and independent samples t test, ANOVA and ANCOVA analysis were used in the analysis of the data. According to the results obtained from the research, after the groups completed their learning processes, the mean post-test score reached 66.66 24.35 in the control group and 92.50 8.52 in the experiment group. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean post-test scores of the groups (p<0.05). As a result of the research, it is recommended that web-based instruction method should be used together with traditional class-based instruction method because, it provides more visual presentations of nursing knowledge and skills, and helps the students to understand concepts at the cognitive level.