Nursing Students’ Experiences of Using the digital Guidance and Assessment Tool TOPP-N during Clinical Practice in a Nursing Home: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

Abstract

Background: Nursing students´ learning during clinical practice is largely influenced by the quality of the guidance they receive from their registered nurse (RN) preceptors. Students that have attended placement in nursing home settings have called for more time with RNs, and an opportunity for more help from the RNs for reflection and developing critical thinking skills. To strengthen students´ guidance and assessment and enhance students´ learning in the practice setting, it has also been recommended to improve the collaboration between faculties and RNs.Objective: This study explores first-year nursing students' experiences of using the TOPP-N (Technology Optimized Practice Process in Nursing) application in nursing home in Norway. TOPP-N is developed to support guidance and assessment in clinical practice in nursing education.Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with 19 nursing students from two university campus in Norway. The data collection and directed content analysis were based on DeLone and McLean's Information System Success Model.Results: Some participants had difficulties in learning to use TOPP-N, particularly the ones that had not attended the one-hour digital course. Further, participants remarked that the content of the TOPP-N guidance module could be better adjusted to their precent clinical practice, level of education and individual achievements to be more usable. Despite this, most participants liked the TOPP-N application's concept. Using the TOPP-N mobile application for guidance and assessment was found to be very flexible. Frequency and ways of using the application varied among the participants. Most participants perceived that use of TOPP-N facilitated awareness of learning objectives and enabled continuous reflection and feedback from preceptors. However, the findings indicate that the TOPP-N application's perceived usefulness was highly dependent on the preparedness and use of the app among nurse preceptors (or absence thereof).Conclusions: This study offers information about critical success factors perceived by nursing student related to the use of the TOPP-N application. To develop similar Learning Management Systems that are usable and efficient to use, developers should focus on personalising the content, clarifying procedures for use and enhance the training and motivation of users i.e. students, preceptors and educators.