Improving performance and self‐efficacy of novice nurses using hybrid simulation‐based mastery learning

Aim Acute chest pain is a commonly encountered symptom in hospital medical/surgical units; however, almost half of nurses in their second year of clinical experience in our facility have reported struggling to care for acute chest pain patients. We developed, implemented, and examined the effectiveness of a simulation‐based, mastery learning clinical nursing educational program to improve self‐efficacy and performance in caring for patients with acute chest pain. Methods The study adopted a single‐site, single‐cohort design using simulation‐based performance assessment and self‐efficacy surveys on a convenience sample of 37 second‐year clinical nurse participants in multi‐stage hybrid mastery learning educational intervention using asynchronous e‐learning, and hands‐on simulation training and assessment with feedback on caring for chest pain patients. Performance assessments and self‐efficacy surveys were administered pre‐, post‐, and 5 months post‐intervention. Results Clinical performance on the post‐ and 5 months follow‐up assessments were significantly higher than those for the pre‐test (P