Comparison of the Effectiveness of Video-assisted Teaching Program and Traditional Demonstration on Nursing Students Learning Skills of Performing Obstetrical Palpation

BACKGROUND: Teaching methods have failed to keep up with the pace of the changing curriculum. Clinical practice, an essential part of nursing education, links theory with practice, particularly in midwifery nursing. Thus, this study aimed to compare the effects of video-assisted teaching programs and traditional demonstration on nursing students learning obstetrical palpation skills. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental research work with pretest, posttest, control group design in which 60 third-year students of Bachelor of Science in Nursing were selected and assigned randomly, by lottery method, into an experimental group (video-assisted teaching program) and a control group (traditional demonstration) regarding obstetrical palpation. The data were collected through a self-designed rating scale. The validity of the rating scale was established by a panel of seven experts from the field of obstetrical and gynecological nursing, and the reliability was established through Cronbach's α(0.78), which showed the tool was consistent among the population. RESULTS: The results showed a significant difference between the pretest and posttest skill scores of students who were exposed to video-assisted teaching program and traditional demonstration (t = 18.35, p < 0.001). Although both the methods were equally effective in enhancing skill, traditional demonstration scored much better than the video-assisted teaching program when the posttest skills were compared (t = 36.40, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The routine educational method, i.e., demonstration, is more effective in developing skills emphasizing the reinforcement of academicians in enhancing teaching skills by adopting blended teaching technique for enhancing memory storage, retrieval, cognition, and learning.