ABSTRACT
The main challenges faced by nursing students are enhancing their existing skills and augmenting their medical knowledge in order to provide the best care for their patients. Problems that occured during laboratory skill practice as observed by an instructor. Nursing education emphasizes both academic and clinical skills in the learning process. Nurses develop their cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills in order to deliver a high quality of care and ensure patient safety. One hundred and ten second-year students who met the inclusion criteria were recruited from the Faculty of Nursing at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The participants were randomly selected by a random number generator. The experimental group practiced using a nebulizer on the high fidelity mannequin Sim Man 3G. Participants were indirectly observed using CCTV cameras. The control group practiced using the nebulizer on a conventional mannequin. These participants were directly observed by an instructor. The study was conducted over two weeks. Before and after practicing using the nebulizer on the high fidelity mannequin, students were given a pre- and post-test regarding their performance on this skill and their knowledge of the instrument. Data analysis using comparison means paired t-test and the results showed that the knowledge of student pre-test score (M=4.55; SD=.85) was different than their post-test score (M=5.69; SD=.97) (P=.00). Similarly, students’ pre-test score for this skill (M=64.39: SD=4.05) was different from their post-test score (M=66.76; SD=3.612) (P=.00). Students’ knowledge was shown to be higher after practicing nebulizer therapy using high fidelity mannequins. Moreover, the study supports the hypothesis that there is a difference in the degree to which high fidelity simulators improve nursing students’ knowledge and skill after practicing nebulizer therapy.
