Concept Mapping Strategy and Students’ Wound Care Competencies in College of Nursing Sciences in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract The aim of this study is to determine the effects of concept mapping strategy on students’ wound care competencies in Colleges of Nursing Sciences in Cross River State, Nigeria. A quasiexperimental research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of all the year 1, 2 and 3 student nurses (Nursing department) in Colleges of Nursing Sciences in the study area. All the 215-year 2 nursing students were selected for the study through census. Lesson Plans on Wound Care for Student Nurses (LPWCSN), a 30 item Wound Care Achievement Test (WCAT) developed by the researchers were used as instruments for data collection. The data collection instruments were scrutinized and validated by two experts in department of nursing Science, University of Calabar. The reliability of the instrument was established using Kuder-Richardson 21 (KR-21) formula which yielded a reliability coefficient of .68. using SPSS 25 and Means and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the collected and prepared data for all the hypotheses. The results of the study revealed that concept mapping strategy had significant effects on students’ wound care competencies (wound assessment, cleansing, dressing selection, and documentation). It was recommended, among others, that nursing education programs should formally incorporate concept mapping strategies into the curriculum, particularly in clinical skill courses such as wound care, to enhance students’ critical thinking and procedural competence (Word count: 252).

Keywords: Concept Mapping Strategy, Students’ Wound Care Competencies, College of Nursing Sciences