The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of simulation problem-based learning (S-PBL), a type of learning that reflects various clinical situations, and demonstration-based learning, a conventional type of learning that shows clinical skill performance, of Papanicolaou smear education on the self-confidence, learner satisfaction, and critical thinking of nursing students. A quasi-experimental control group pretest-posttest design was used. Nursing students who were classified as advanced beginners were randomly allocated to the control group (n = 53) or the experimental group (n = 52). Students in the control group participated in a conventional demonstration of a Papanicolaou smear, while students in the experimental group participated in S-PBL. The students' self-confidence, learner satisfaction, and critical thinking were measured via a self-reported questionnaire. Compared with the control group, self-confidence, learner satisfaction, and critical thinking increase significantly more (p < 0.001) in the experimental group. S-PBL was found to be an effective strategy for improving learning transfer, applying learned nursing knowledge to simulated nursing situations. Thus, S-PBL is recommended to improve training in nursing education.
Keywords: education; learning transfer; nursing; problem-based learning; simulation.