The effect of a distance education training program on nurse Interns' readiness for distance education and their perceptions of lifelong learning

Abstract

Abstract Aim The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of a distance education training program on nurse interns' readiness for distance education and their perceptions of lifelong learning. Design A quasi‐experimental research approach with one‐group, pre/post‐test was used. Methods The study used a quasi‐experimental research approach and was carried out at Damanhour University's Faculty of Nursing. A study was carried out on 345 interns' students. All nursing interns enrolled in the 2020–2021 internship training year. The researchers employed a program that contained a distance education readiness assessment as well as a questionnaire about the perceived advantages of lifelong learning. Results The majority (99.7%) of nurse interns were highly ready for distance education, whereas only 0.3 percent were moderately ready following the training program implementation immediately. In comparison to pre‐training, the majority (91.9%) of them were somewhat ready for distance education, while just 7.2 percent were highly prepared. Furthermore, the majority (97.1%) of them had high total skills of distance education after implementation of the training program by 3 months, and 95.4 percent had high total skills of learning immediately after the training program, whereas 26.1% of nurse interns had high total skills before the training program, at p value 0.01.

Keywords

• distance education
• lifelong learning
• nurse interns
• perceptions