Is a Flipped Classroom an Effective Educational Method to Meet Nursing Students' Learning Needs?

In recent years there has been an outcry for educational reform on many levels from grade school to Doctoral Programs.  The goal is for pupils to not only regurgitate information but to truly learn material; this is extremely crucial in science and healthcare related fields. In 2001, the institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, described the current healthcare workforce as inadequately prepared to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse patient population. Due to the constantly changing environment in healthcare, nurses must be able to adjust their techniques, mindset, and strategies to provide excellent care for their patients. Nurses have to be able to provide emergent care, assess critically ill patients, and identify both obvious and subtle changes in healthcare status; therefore nursing education must be unique. Nurses need to be educated using methods that improve critical thinking. A new method known as a “flipped classroom” has been introduced in general education. This study has been conducted to determine if this is an effective technique to educate future nurses.

                To determine if this strategy is effective at educating future nurses, multiple studies and articles were analyzed. There is a shortage of empirical research about flipped classrooms, however, and also a lack of information and congruency about this educational strategy. In this study, students were interviewed via questionnaire to determine their opinions about the flipped classroom technique. In addition, faculty members who have implemented this strategy were interviewed to ascertain their perspectives on the method. Many benefits and obstacles of flipped classrooms were identified through this study. This information will be valuable for nursing educators in determining if they want to implement flipped classrooms in the future, how to best define a flipped classroom, how to incorporate the strategy into the classroom, and what obstacles to be aware of.