Comparison of role play and conventional training methods on long-term learning of nursing students

Due to interaction with the patient, choosing the appropriate teaching method in clinical disciplines like nursing is very important. The aim of this study was to compare the method of role play with routine training methods regarding their impact on long-term learning of nursing students. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a control group design on 74 nursing students from Iran University of medical sciences (IUMS) in 2017-18. The students were divided into two control (n=35) and experimental (n=39) groups through simple random sampling. Conventional teaching methods were used with the control group and role play teaching methods were used with the experimental group. In the next semester, each student trained two patients in the hospital. The degree of patient satisfaction with students' trainings was measured as a long-term learning index. Demographics and satisfaction questionnaire were used in this study. The data was analyzed with SPSS (V21) using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The results indicated that the average satisfaction score of patients with students' training performance was 73.26%   in the experimental group and 47.22% in the control group. Therefore, they were significantly different (P <0/001). The findings of this study highlighted the positive effect of Role Play Training on long-term learning of nursing students. Role Play Training can lead to improved presented education to patients and thereby expand the quality of service along with increased patient satisfaction.