Investigating the Effect of E-Learning with a Blended Approach on the Rate of Learning in Nursing Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease. It has spread throughout the world in a short period and this widespread outbreak has caused many problems in medical institutions and universities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of e-learning with a blended visual, analytical, and practical approach on the rate of cognitive and psychomotor learning of the practical course of Nursing Principles and Skills in nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was used in this study. To conduct the research, 30 first-semester nursing students who had taken the course "Nursing Principles and Skills" were selected. The teacher divided the students into two groups of 15 students (experimental and control groups), and then before starting the practical class according to the faculty program, 8 virtual sessions in a blended form started for the experimental group. Results: Before the intervention, the mean score of cognitive learning was equal to 4.66±3.11 in the experimental group and 4.53±2.94 in the control group. The mean score of psychomotor learning was equal to 0.86±0.74 in the experimental group and 0.8 ± 0.86 in the control group. After the intervention, the mean scores of cognitive learning were equal to 16.89±5.47 and 10.93±4.55 in the experimental and control groups, respectively, while the mean scores of psychomotor learning were equal to 18.33±3.85 and 12.46±5.05 in the experimental and control groups, respectively. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, all human societies underwent unwanted changes. This pandemic caused damages to various economic, social, medical, and even educational institutions. The use of e-learning with a blended approach can improve the rate of cognitive and psychomotor learning in medical students.