Educational strategies used in master's and doctoral nursing education : a scoping review

Abstract

Background Advanced practice nurses and future nursing researchers must be adequately educated with the best available evidence. However, we know little about educational strategies and their characteristics used explicitly to educate advanced practice nurses and future researchers.

Method A scoping review was used to map the latest educational strategies used in master's and doctoral nursing education between 2011 and 2021. Components of educational strategies were extracted based on the Guideline for Reporting Evidence-Based Practice Educational Interventions and Teaching and the Saskatchewan Education Department Framework of Professional Practice. The New World Kirkpatrick Model was used to categorize the associated learning outcomes. A narrative description approach was used to synthesize the findings.

Results A total of 56 studies were included. Several information was missing regarding the theoretical foundations of the educational strategies. A total of 158 educational strategies were identified. Individual work (e.g., homework) was the most popular educational strategy. Most studies assessed learning outcomes related to reactions (e.g., satisfaction) or learning (e.g., knowledge).

Conclusion More studies should be done using interactive instruction or multimodal approaches, while the authors should better describe intervention components. A systematic review of effectiveness needs to be conducted to evaluate the best educational strategies in the master's and doctoral nursing education.