Abstract
Purpose: This study proposed to examine the effects of a blended-learning orientation program executed for nursing students' clinical practice. Method: The participants were 61 nursing students in the experimental group and 57 in the control group. For the experimental group, a blended-learning orientation program was executed by e-learning (on-line) and lecture-led training (off-line) from two-week before the start of clinical practice in medical-surgical nursing. For the control group, orientation was given in the traditional lecture-led training by distributing printed materials before clinical practice. A pre-test was conducted on the experimental and control group before clinical practice, and a post-test was conducted after two-week of clinical practice in order to examine the effects of the orientation program. Results: After two-week of clinical practice, differences were observed between the experimental group and the control group in adaptation to clinical practice (F=10.242, p=.002), communication skills (F=4.305, p=.040) and clinical competence (F=6.823, p=.010). Conclusions: The blended-learning orientation program enhanced nursing students' adaptation to clinical practice, improved their communication skill and increased their clinical competence. Accordingly, it is recommended to develop and apply practical education using blended-learning in the area of nursing science.
