The stakeholders’ perceptions of the requirements of implementing innovative educational approaches in nursing: a qualitative content analysis study

BACKGROUND: Improving the competencies of nurses requires improving educational methods through the use of novel methods in teaching and learning. We aim to explore the perceptions of stakeholders (including nursing education directors, faculty members and nursing students) of the requirements of implementing innovative educational approaches in nursing. METHODS: In this qualitative descriptive study, 19 participants, including educational directors, faculty members, and undergraduate and graduate nursing students, were selected through the purposeful sampling method. Achieving the theoretical saturation in extracted categories was considered as a criterion for determining the sample size and the completion of sampling. The data were collected from December 2019 to May 2020 in nursing schools of Tehran, Iran, through in-depth semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews and were then analyzed based on the Graneheim and Lundman method. RESULTS: Using qualitative content analysis, eight sub-themes and three themes were extracted. The extracted themes were ‘novel educational policymaking’, ‘Innovative education-oriented platform’, and ‘managing barriers of innovative educational approaches’. CONCLUSIONS: Developing and implementing innovative educational approaches entail providing appropriate context, structure, and required facilities by the policymaking system and educational authorities. In addition, developing capacity and related competencies of faculty members and students as the major stakeholders in employing these approaches is crucial. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-021-00647-7.