Effectiveness of a Blended Simulation Education Program on Advanced Cardiac Life Support for Nursing Students Using the PARTNER Model

Abstract

Background The incidence of acute cardiac arrest is increasing and is directly linked to patient survival, highlighting the critical role of nurses. Advanced nursing skills for cardiac arrest patients, such as self-directed pre-learning applied to various clinical situations, require a systematic blended learning approach to integrate knowledge and enhance clinical performance through face-to-face practice. Objectives This study aims to apply a blended simulation education program using the PARTNER model to nursing students and evaluate its effectiveness on their knowledge, confidence, performance in advanced cardiac life support, clinical performance ability, and learning satisfaction. Design: The program is structured in phases including pre-stage, pre-learning assessment, pre-learning integration, cooperative learning, core summary lectures, evaluation, and post-reflection. It is theoretically grounded in flipped learning based on the PARTNER model. Setting and Participants: The study design is a non-equivalent control group pre-post-test design, conducted from November 4 to December 30, 2022, with third-year nursing students at K University in D City, Korea. Methods The experimental group received a 480-minute advanced cardiac life support blended simulation education program using the PARTNER model, while the control group received a traditional simulation education program of equal duration. Results The study found that knowledge, confidence, performance in advanced cardiac life support, and clinical performance ability were effectively enhanced, although no significant effect was observed in learning satisfaction. Conclusions The program provides a new direction in applying blended simulation using the PARTNER model for advanced cardiac life support nursing education, ultimately contributing to the training of nurses competent in advanced cardiac life support.