Comparison of the effects of conventional and PBL teaching methods on nursing student's skills in administrating medication to children in Sanandaj

Problem based learning has a high place in higher educational levels. Special attention has paid to medication administration skills, in order to maintain pstient’s health. Identifying the best educational methods for administrating medication to children by nurse students can solve some of the existing educational problems. According to the above reasons this study was conducted to compare the impact of conventional and problem based learning (PBL) teaching methods on cognitive knowledge and psychomotor skills of nursing students in drug administration to children. It was a quasi-experimental study. 29 pediatric ward nursing students at the 4th semester of kurdistan university were divided randomly into comparative and conventional groups. The comparative group was taught by the conventional method and the conventional group by PBL teaching method. Data were recorded in a check-list about cognitive knowledge and psychomotor skills. The check-list also included the student’s attitudes towards applied strategies and their compliance of learning methods. Data were analyzed with SPSS statistical software. The results of this study showed that there was a significant difference in the mean values of student’s cognitive knowledge between comparative and conventional groups in the first stage (p=0.000) and there was a significant difference in student’s psychomotor skills between the two groups (p=0.000) in the second stage. Compliance of learning methods was approved after instruction by the two groups and more than fifty percents of students had a positive attitude towards the PbL method (57.1%). It can be concluded that PbL is effective in improving knowledge and skills in nursing students, and it is recommended to take the place of the conventional method.