The Effects of an Online Program for Professional Nursing and Midwifery Licensing Examination on Midwifery Knowledge Scores

Abstract

The number of new graduates who have passed midwifery in the professional nursing and midwifery licensing examinations has been lower than the nursing school’s expectations and the pandemic situation has compelled employing online core-curriculum classes or specialized tutoring sessions. This quasi-experimental research aimed to 1) compare the mean knowledge scores of the research participants who were taught using a regular, in-person program which was supplemented by The Online Program for Professional Nursing and Midwifery Licensing Examination in Midwifery (TOP-NM) and students who were taught only using the regular, in-person program, and 2) to compare the scores of the participants in the experimental group before and after participating in the TOP-NM program. The participants were 96 fourth-year undergraduate nursing students at a nursing college in central Thailand. They were divided evenly into an experimental and a comparison group (n = 48 in each group). Both groups were taught using the regular program; after completion of the in-person classes, the experimental group was given supplemental instruction through participation in the TOP-NM program. Research instruments were the TOP-NM, a pre-test / post-test knowledge assessment, and a satisfaction survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests. The results showed that, after participating the TOP-NM program, the experimental group had statistically significant higher mean knowledge scores (t(47) = - 21.42, p < .001, d = 4.66) than before participation, as well as higher scores than the members of the comparison group (t(94) = - 24.05, p < .001, d = 4.91). In conclusion, the TOP-NM resulted in the research participants acquiring more knowledge about midwifery. Therefore, online teaching programs should be developed for all areas being tested to help prepare students for the examination in situations where online education activities are appropriate or required.