Development of an accessible and relevant science based course to assist nursing students to cope academically with science subjects

Abstract

The failure rate of science-related subjects is high among first-year nursing students. The gap between matriculation level and the first year of University commonly leads to attrition and prolonged study completion. Developing an accessible and relevant short course based specifically on the students’ needs could reduce the failure rate, improve the throughput rates, and reduce the attrition rate. This will hopefully help to address the shortage of nurses and demoralization amongst the students. The purpose of this research study was to develop an accessible, relevant, and appropriate science-based short course that will assist first-year nursing students to cope academically with science subjects as part of their university programme.

Design and development research methodology was utilised to design a short course in basic sciences for first-year nursing students at a University in Gauteng. The first phase of the study is a scoping review to explore the international attempts to structure and deliver science-based content to students. The second phase of the study describes the analysis of the students’ needs as well as the nurse educators’ opinions. The last phase of the study is the development and the expert review of the short course concerning accessibility, relevance and appropriateness. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect and analyse the data in the various phases of the study. The population consisted of first-year students enrolled in the B nursing programme and subject matter experts teaching the science subjects.

The generation most represented in nursing courses is currently the Gen Z group. Nursing students need academic support in basic sciences to build a foundational knowledge base of chemistry, physics, and mathematical concepts to ensure that a deeper knowledge can be acquired from the foundation as needed for application into safe clinical nursing practice. It was determined that a blended learning short course would be the preferred format in order to meet the learner's needs.

In conclusion it is estimated that the relevant and appropriate basic science concepts taught in this course will lead to a better understanding of basic science concepts and the appropriate application in clinical nurse practice resulting in safe patient care.