The sense of a patient: An ethnographic multi-site field study exploring the influence of manikins on nursing students' learning

Abstract

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to gain insight into the influence of full-body human-like manikins on nursing students’ learning. The research question that guided the study was: How do the presence and use of human-like manikins influence nursing students’ learning? Data were collected during 15 educational sessions, using different manikins for various activities. Applying cultural-historical activity theory, this study explored the use of manikins as a mediated activity. The study’s main result was the interplay of five categories. In the first category, manikin as an object, manikins were used to teach and learn technical skills. In the second category, manikin as a subject, manikins were used to teach and learn to perform those skills with care. The third category, the interplay, illustrates how these two approaches were present in all sessions. Category four, the individual learning space, provided students with a feeling of working with a patient. Category five, the collective learning space, awarded collaborative and reflexive learning opportunities. We concluded from this study that manikins may introduce students to the balance between the technical and interpersonal aspects of nursing practice. Being aware of how manikins influence learning, educators can make more targeted use of manikins and support lower-grade nursing students in their learning process and professional development.