A comparative study of learning via module versus lecture teaching methods on the knowledge and practice of oncology nurses concerning safety standards with cytotoxic drugs in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

A ll nurses need continuing education, especially those working in oncology wards. In the current programs, there are just two general patterns for teaching: teacher - centered and student - centered patterns. T he aim of this study was to compare the effect of teacher -centered (lecture) and student-centered (module) teaching methods on the knowledge and practice of oncology nurses in relation to safety standards with cytotoxic drugs. In this quasi-experimental study, all the nurses in Shiraz (2010-2011), who participated in the prescription of cytotoxic drugs to patients were selected (n=86) and randomly divided into three groups. The module group (n=29) used a self-directed module, the lecture group (n=28) was taught by an experienced lecturer in the classroom for 5 hours, and the control group (n=29) did not receive any intervention. Data in relation to knowledge and practice of oncology nurses in the three groups were collected before and 8 weeks after the intervention using a researcher-made questionnaire and checklist. To analyze the data, paired t-test, Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey test were used at 0.05. Knowledge and practice mean scores increased significantly from baseline in both intervention groups (P<.001), but there was no significant difference between the scores for the control group (P>0.05). Change of knowledge and practice mean scores in lecture and module grous was significantly more than that of the control group (P<0.001). No considerable difference was observed between the lecture and module groups (P>0.05). Given the results of the current study, advantages of student-centered educational methods, nursing workload, and the sensitive nature of the nursing profession, modules can be suggested as a suitable alternative method for lecture.