Medication administration: does the teaching method really matter?

Do teaching methods affect students' performance of medication administration? This study was conducted to ascertain if there was a difference in baccalaureate nursing students' ability to accurately administer medication when taught using a faculty-assisted (control group) method versus a self-directed (experimental group) method. Student performance in medication administration was measured 1 week post laboratory practice using a 17-item instrument developed by the faculty. Students (N = 98) were randomly assigned to the faculty-assisted group or the self-directed group. The difference between the two groups was in the method of laboratory instruction. Students (n = 50) in the control group received faculty instruction on the skill performance during the laboratory practice. Students (n = 48) in the experimental group viewed a faculty-generated videotape on medication administration prior to laboratory practice. Performance evaluations were completed 1 week after the laboratory practice. Analysis of the data using a two-tailed t test for independent samples showed no significant difference (p < .05) between the two groups.