PERCEPTIONS OF YEAR 3 UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS ON THE USE OF ELECTRONIC - LEARNING IN THEIR CURRICULUM: A QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Abstract

Aim: To explore the perceptions and experiences of third-year undergraduate nursing students regarding the use of electronic-learning (e-learning) in their curriculum in Singapore. Background: The usage of e-learning has been increasing incorporated into nursing education. Although e-learning has been studied extensively, there is a lack of qualitative studies exploring the perceptions of nursing students on the overall usage of e-learning in their nursing education in Singapore. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was utilised for this study. Individuals face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. A total of 15 third-year nursing undergraduates in a university in Singapore were recruited through purposive sampling. Qualitative data was analysed using the steps of thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke (2016). Results: Five themes with 13 subthemes emerged from thematic analysis. The themes were advantages of e-learning; challenges of e-learning; e-learning for clinical skills; characteristics for effective e-learning; and, support system Conclusions: The participants in this study acknowledged that their quality of education has been enhanced with the usage of e-learning in their curriculum. The advantages and challenges faced by nursing students when using e-learning were shared. Participants had positive experience with learning of clinical skills through the use of e-learning. Findings of this study such as the characteristics for effective e-learning and how the faculty can support the students could be used to modify current nursing education and thus further enhance the quality and standard of nursing education with the usage of e-learning.