The Effect of Two Teaching Approaches in Lecture and Multimedia on Nurses' Problem Solving Skills

Education is one of the most basic needs of human societies and one of the axes of development, and problem-solving is a vital skill for living in the present age. The present study was conducted to compare the effect of lecture (face-to-face) and multimedia (virtual) training on the problem-solving skills of nurses in 2023.

The present study is a quasi-experimental research design of the pre-test and post-test type with a control group. The research population consisted of all nurses working at the 15 Khordad Hospital affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Participants were conveniently sampled and divided into two groups: one receiving training through lectures (using PowerPoint and a whiteboard along with Q&A) and the other receiving multimedia training (educational content on problem-solving skills and techniques necessary for coping with challenging situations, delivered in a workshop format across 4 sessions of 2 hours over 2 days). In the multimedia training group, after the pre-test, the prepared educational content was also sent as scenario-based material in a compressed file via social media networks. After the training was conducted, both groups were re-evaluated in the post-test, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 25 with independent t-tests.

The findings showed that the mean age and standard deviation of nurses in the intervention group was 33.44 ± 4.19, and in the control group it was 33±5.29. In terms of education, 88% in the intervention group and 84% in the control group had bachelor's degrees. Moreover, 84% of participants in the intervention group and 76% in the control group were married. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding problem-solving skills scores after the intervention, indicating that the intervention had a positive effect on problem-solving skills scores (p = 0.001).

According to the findings of the research, it can be concluded that education with a multimedia approach has a positive effect on the problem solving skills of nurses. It is recommended to use new and creative teaching methods such as multimedia approach to improve nurses’ problem-solving skills.