Uso de las tics como recurso didáctico en la enseñanza universitaria de enfermería del sistema español

Abstract

Nursing education has undergone numerous changes throughout its historical development, although this process has taken place in parallel to educational changes and new means of learning in the classroom. The new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have recently been included in the higher education curriculum. This has not only led to an increase in present-day registered nurses' scientific knowledge, but has also simultaneously increased the quality of care with which patients are provided, regardless of their health problem. As an initial starting point, we therefore decided to discover the state-of-the-art as regards the use of ICTs in nursing education: which countries are more advanced in their application, the types of technological resources used and the extent to which experiences have been successful, among other factors analyzed. These results allowed us to estimate the impact of ITCs on current practitioners. The use of mobile technology, especially the Personal Digital Assistant, has grown in recent years in higher education nursing studies. In order to discover and analyze the applicability and the use of ICTs and social networks among the university nursing faculty staff in Spain, a descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out using a questionnaire. The sample comprised 165 professors from 25 Nursing Faculties and Schools at universities in Spain. Seventy one percent of the total surveyed used Internet services to look for information, 63% used the Internet as a means of education and learning, and 72% used it as a communication platform (e-mail and virtual platforms like Sakai and Moodle). Younger professors use new technologies more profusely, and the most-valued advantage of using ICTs was quick access to information. Professors perceive that after the Bologna Declaration, a drop has occurred in their performance and that of their peers in their area of knowledge. The nursing teaching staff is making strong efforts to confront the new challenges posed by ICTs in order to train the professionals of the 21st century. To complete the Ph.D., an empirical study on the effectiveness of the use of an audience response system (ARS) called SIstema De Respuesta inmediata de la Audiencia during a higher education course in nursing was carried out. The aim was to compare the effects of using ARS versus a conventional teaching method as regards the acquisition of knowledge measured by means of a final examination. The students' final assessments revealed that the use of ARS had a positive impact on their performance. The students also found ARS to be very motivating. Further research is required to study the effectiveness of ARS for it to be widely used in other disciplines. We can conclude that nursing teaching staff must make an effort to adapt to new technologies. With the advent of the European Higher Education Area, wireless devices provide an opportunity to adapt teaching to students' distinct capacities and learning styles, while a combination of technological resources can promote their active learning and facilitate reflexive and critical thought. Keywords: medical technology, social communication, computer-assisted learning, electronic technology