A COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE PROGRAM IN MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS FOR MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION FOR BEGINNING BACCALAUREATE NURSING STUDENTS AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY (CALIFORNIA).
Contributors: Nova University.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 173
Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Computer Science.; Education, Technology.
Description: Nursing educators and administrators are concerned about medication errors made by students and staff nurses which jeopardize patient safety. The inability to conceptualize and calculate medication dosages, often related to math anxiety, are implicated in the medication errors. A computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program is seen as a viable method to allow students to learn the mathematics in a non-threatening, self-paced environment. The purpose of this Major Applied Research Project was to produce a quality CAI software program for beginning baccalaureate nursing students at San Jose State University based upon research of specific needs and problems.

The research methodology was developmental, consisting of several interrelated steps. Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction provided the main conceptual framework and instructional design guidelines. The steps consisted of the following: (1) analyzing data from 196 student surveys and evaluating the errors made by beginning nursing students in 422 dosage and solution exams; (2) critically evaluating six currently available software programs in dosage and solution mathematics; (3) developing a prototype CAI program which emphasized mathematical problem-solving, using "Course Builder" an authoring program for the Macintosh computer; and (5) evaluating the prototype program based on French and Stimmel's software evaluation tool. The results from the evaluations showed high rankings in most areas.

Conclusions include the following: (1) the types of problems and errors made by SJSU nursing students follow the trend identified in the literature; (2) the problem-solving approach used for the CAI program, "Mastering Medication Math", developed for this project meets the suggestions in the literature on decreasing medication errors and math anxiety; (3) a CAI program can be a cost-effective means of providing basic instruction in dosage and solution mathematics for all students, but especially for disadvantaged students.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2705.

Thesis (ED.D.)--NOVA UNIVERSITY, 1992.

School code: 0166.