NR 621 Intervention: Evaluation Plan

NR 621 Intervention: Evaluation Plan

Student Name

Chamberlain University

NR-621: Nurse Educator Concluding Graduate Experience I

Prof. Name

Date

Introduction

Incivility in nursing education remains a persistent challenge that affects both academic and clinical environments. This concern encompasses diverse stakeholders, including faculty, clinical preceptors, students, and patients. Whether expressed subtly or overtly, acts of incivility undermine the educational atmosphere, resulting in emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical distress for those involved. More importantly, incivility disrupts professional relationships, impairs judgment, and jeopardizes patient safety by compromising communication and decision-making abilities.

Although research on evidence-based interventions to combat incivility is limited, role-playing has emerged as a valuable strategy. Role-playing replicates real-world scenarios, enabling nursing students to enhance communication skills, develop empathy, and critically reflect on their professional behavior in a non-threatening setting. This mixed-methods project explores the potential of role-playing as an educational intervention to mitigate incivility in nursing education and to evaluate its impact on learners’ professional growth and classroom civility.

Nurse incivility also extends beyond academic implications and affects healthcare delivery. Disruptive behaviors contribute to burnout, errors, and staff attrition, resulting in increased turnover costs. Studies indicate that approximately 98,000 preventable deaths occur annually in acute care settings due to communication failures and unprofessional conduct. Furthermore, healthcare organizations expend nearly 125% of a nurse’s salary to replace professionals who resign due to hostile work environments. Such statistics highlight the critical need to integrate civility-building strategies, such as role-playing, into nursing curricula.

NR 621 Intervention: Evaluation Plan

Professional organizations like the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Joint Commission advocate for a zero-tolerance approach toward disruptive behaviors. They emphasize the need to foster respect, collaboration, and professionalism across both clinical and academic settings. This project proposes role-playing as a structured teaching intervention that allows students to identify, manage, and prevent incivility while reinforcing the ethical and professional values of nursing.

Role-playing serves as an interactive method to enhance engagement and empathy among learners. However, timing is vital for its effectiveness. Sessions must be scheduled away from high-stress periods, such as before or after examinations, to promote open participation. Within this project, activities were carefully planned to ensure optimal student involvement and meaningful learning experiences.

By engaging in structured scenarios, students practiced therapeutic communication, honed their conflict-resolution skills, and strengthened their professional identity. Such experiences align with the broader curricular aim of preparing nursing graduates for clinical competence and ethical practice grounded in mutual respect and teamwork.

Project Goals and Stakeholders

Long-Term Goals

The overarching goal of this project is to reduce incivility in nursing programs through the integration of role-playing activities. Successful implementation is expected to foster a positive classroom environment, enhance confidence among students, and improve patient safety outcomes. The project’s long-term success will be evaluated based on graduation rates, NCLEX pass rates, and faculty assessments of improved interpersonal interactions between peers and instructors.

Short-Term Goals

In the short term, the project focuses on assessing the following measurable outcomes:

• Exam Performance: Comparing scores before and after role-playing sessions.

• Student Engagement: Monitoring participation and collecting feedback.

• Stress Management: Assessing anxiety levels during clinical and academic interactions.

Stakeholders

Stakeholder collaboration is critical for long-term sustainability. The project involved five nursing schools working closely with:

• Faculty Members: Responsible for implementing and evaluating role-playing sessions.

• Administrators and Department Chairs: Ensured curriculum integration and allocation of institutional support.

• Students: Acted as active participants and primary beneficiaries of the intervention.

Table 1: Project Goals and Stakeholders

Project Implementation: Role-Playing in Nursing Education

Successful implementation of role-playing requires faculty training, curriculum modification, and scenario development reflecting real clinical situations. Examples include simulated patient assessments, emergency responses, and ethical dilemma discussions.

A notable case in mental health nursing allowed students to alternate between the roles of patient and clinician during psychiatric interviews. This practice enabled a deeper understanding of patient experiences and promoted empathetic communication (Martin & Kahn, 1995). Another innovative simulation included students experiencing auditory hallucinations through recorded audio, helping them gain insight into mental health disorders and improve patient-centered care through reflective debriefing sessions.

Research by King, Hill, and Gleason (2015) also revealed that medical students participating in role-play scenarios demonstrated significant improvement in both academic knowledge and interpersonal communication. Such evidence highlights that role-playing not only enhances theoretical learning but also nurtures emotional intelligence, teamwork, and professional resilience—all essential competencies for nursing professionals.

Conclusion

Role-playing has proven to be a valuable pedagogical approach that promotes empathy, professional conduct, and civility among nursing students. By emphasizing experiential learning and reflection, it aligns with active learning principles and supports behavioral transformation. Continuous evaluation of these interventions is crucial for long-term success; however, early evidence suggests that role-playing is an effective and sustainable tool for building respectful, communicative, and emotionally intelligent nursing professionals.

NR 621 Intervention: Evaluation Plan

Quasi-Experimental Design

The intervention adopted a quasi-experimental design comparing outcomes between students taught via traditional lectures and those engaged in role-playing. Initially, both groups received instruction on patient education and learning objectives. Later, the experimental group participated in scenario-based role-plays, followed by group discussions and evaluations.

The findings indicated that students exposed to role-playing consistently achieved higher scores in both theoretical examinations and clinical performance checklists. This demonstrated the superiority of interactive learning over conventional lecture-based instruction in enhancing conceptual understanding and practical application.

Table 2: Comparison of Lecture-Based vs. Role-Playing Outcomes

Project Evaluation

Evaluation methods combined faculty assessments with student feedback surveys. Instructors rated the effectiveness of sessions, organization of online learning modules, and facilitation of reflective discussions. Students reported heightened self-awareness, better empathy, and improved communication abilities.

Key outcomes included:

• Faculty Perspective: Improved classroom culture, increased participation, and enhanced peer collaboration.

• Student Perspective: Recognition of personal behavioral patterns, increased confidence, and reduced stress levels during patient and peer interactions.

Change Model: Force Field and Lewin’s Unfreezing-Change-Refreezing

Lewin’s three-step model was employed to guide the implementation process:

1. Unfreezing: Challenging the traditional lecture-based approach and preparing faculty and students for innovative learning methods.

2. Change: Introducing role-playing as a dynamic instructional strategy, promoting communication and behavioral adaptation.

3. Refreezing: Institutionalizing role-playing as a core curricular component to maintain civility and professional development (Burnes, 2020).

This structured model ensured sustained change by balancing driving and restraining forces within the academic environment.

Self-Reflection

Self-reflection was central to the intervention, helping both students and faculty assess their responses to incivility and refine professional behaviors. Educators became more adept at managing disruptive conduct, while students gained insight into their interpersonal actions, resulting in a more positive and supportive classroom atmosphere.

Teaching-Learning Strategy

The teaching-learning approach integrated a combination of strategies to accommodate diverse learning preferences:

• Utilization of multiple teaching modalities to ensure inclusivity.

• Transparent and objective evaluation methods to promote fairness.

• Apprenticeship-based models that emphasized mentorship and real-world application.

These combined strategies contributed significantly to reducing classroom incivility, improving collaboration, and enhancing student engagement in both clinical and academic contexts.

References

Burnes, B. (2020). The origins of Lewin’s three-step model of change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(1), 32–59.

Deborah, O. K. (2018). Lewin’s theory of change: Applicability of its principles in a contemporary organization. Journal of Strategic Management, 2(5), 1–12.

King, J., Hill, K., & Gleason, A. (2015). All the world’s stage: Evaluating psychiatry role-play-based learning for medical students. Australasian Psychiatry, 23(1), 76–79.

Martin, P., & Kahn, J. (1995). Medical students as role-playing patients. Academic Psychiatry, 19(2), 101–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03341538

Mousavinasab, E., Kalhori, S. R. N., Sanaee, N. Z., Rakhshan, M., & Saeedi, M. G. (2020). Nursing process education: A review of methods and characteristics. Nurse Education in Practice, 44, 102886.

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