The reviewed literature shows that simulation-based learning and virtual simulation are the most common approaches that can improve students’ clinical reasoning, knowledge retention, self-efficacy, confidence, and satisfaction.
Abstract
: Clinical reasoning is a core competence in nursing education. It helps nursing students collect patient cues, interpret clinical information, make safe decisions, and reflect on nursing actions. In recent years, technology-enhanced learning has been widely used in nursing education, including simulation, virtual simulation, virtual patients, online learning, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence-supported learning. These methods may provide safe, repeatable, and interactive learning contexts for students to practise clinical reasoning before entering real clinical settings. This systematic review aims to summarize current evidence on clinical reasoning in technology-enhanced nursing education. The review focuses on three questions: what technologies have been used, how these technologies support clinical reasoning, and what problems still exist in current research. The reviewed literature shows that simulation-based learning and virtual simulation are the most common approaches. These methods can improve students’ clinical reasoning, knowledge retention, self-efficacy, confidence, and satisfaction. Structured debriefing and reflection are important mechanisms that link technology use with reasoning development. However, current studies still have limitations, such as small samples, short intervention periods, inconsistent outcome measures, and limited long-term follow-up. Future research should use stronger designs, clearer theoretical models, and more direct measures of clinical reasoning.
The world-wide use of digital technologies has dramatically changed nursing education and the delivery of health care. As health care systems become increasingly complicated and technology dependent, nursing education must develop to educate graduates with the competences needed to perform effectively in today’s clinical settings. This review covers the integration of three emerging technologies such as e-learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR) in nursing education and clinical practice. E-learning has widened access to education by offering flexible, learner-centred, technology-enabled instructional methods supporting both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Artificial intelligence has brought about intelligent tutoring systems, adaptive learning platforms, predictive analytics, automated assessment and clinical decision-support systems that help in personalised learning and evidence-based patient care. Virtual reality has evolved as an effective simulation tool providing immersive and risk-free learning environments for nursing students to acquire psychomotor skills, clinical reasoning, communication and decision-making competences prior to interaction with real patients. These technologies collectively enhance learner engagement, knowledge retention, clinical competence, accessibility, and patient safety and promote lifelong learning among nurses. However, the broad adoption of e-Health and m-Health solutions is still hindered by constraints such as the lack of suitable digital infrastructure, costs of implementation, poor technology literacy, ethical issues, cybersecurity risks, and uneven access, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Based on recent literature, this review highlights the educational and clinical use of these technologies, addresses barriers to implementation, and offers solutions for their sustainable integration into nursing education and health care practice. The paper concludes that digital transformation is needed for the development of a competent nursing workforce to meet the needs of twenty-first-century healthcare systems.
Alagwu Scholarstica Chinwe· Journal of Medical & Cli...· 0 citations
It was suggested that integrating advanced clinical learning technologies into nurse practitioner programs should be prioritized, and five primary themes emerged, including student uptake, change management, accessibility, and confidence.
Chelsie Girard, Misha Balciunas, Kelly Robertson et al.· International Review of Rese...· 0 citations
TEL methods appear to improve student learning and provide safe environments for practice, and future research should examine the long-term impact of TEL on learning outcomes, its cost-effectiveness, and its implementation in resource-constrained settings.
Maha Besbes, Anaam Soloh, Mohammed Mustafa et al.· BMC Medical Education· 0 citations
Pediatric nursing clinical reasoning is reframed as situated, developmentally informed, family-centered, and communicatively accountable judgment rather than as individual problem solving alone.
María Antuña-Casal, Marta Rios· Journal of pediatric nursing· 0 citations
The evidence showed that, virtual reality simulations with varying immersive abilities were the most popular innovative educational technology used in undergraduate mental health nursing education and both immersive and non‐immersive VRS were equally effective in improving student learning experiences compared to traditional learning modalities.
Sini Jacob, Sebastian Samuel, Greety Antony et al.· International Journal of Men...· 0 citations
INTRODUCTION
Clinical reasoning is an essential competency for all physicians, and fostering this skill in medical students is a primary objective of medical education. Currently, clinical reasoning is predominantly cultivated through experiences in clinical settings; however, this approach presents certain limitations. The emergence of innovative medical simulation teaching methods has led to the increasing utilisation of standardised patient (SP) simulations in medical education. However, the specific contribution of the SP teaching method to the development of clinical reasoning skills in medical students remains unclear. Therefore, we propose a systematic review to summarise the impact of the SP teaching method on the clinical reasoning competence of medical students.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
This systematic review protocol adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guidelines for reporting results. A comprehensive literature search will be conducted across five major online databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Education Research Complete and the Cochrane Library. The screening process comprises an initial review of titles and abstracts to identify relevant studies efficiently, followed by a full-text assessment of the selected articles. Two reviewers will independently conduct study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment. Data extraction will be performed using a standardised form. The primary outcome is clinical reasoning competence, and secondary outcomes are communication skills and student satisfaction. The risk of bias in included studies will be evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2. Depending on the literature search results and the characteristics of the selected studies, a meta-analysis will be conducted where feasible. Otherwise, a narrative synthesis will be performed.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
This study presents a protocol for a systematic review and does not involve human subjects. The findings will be disseminated through publication as a manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER
CRD420251163882.
Unknown authors· BMJ Open· 0 citations
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.
