Youtube for millennial nursing students; using internet technology to support student engagement with bioscience

Abstract

Undergraduate nursing programs typically include students with limited ‘on-campus’ time who need learning resources that are flexible, technologically appropriate, remotely-accessible (mobile smart devices), and above all, engaging. This has presented academics with challenges surrounding institutional security firewalls, password-access requirements, intellectual property/ownership and staff/student privacy. To overcome these challenges a collection of evidence-based YouTube videos, posted on the Biological Sciences YouTube Channel, supported by the Biosciences in Nurse Education, and underpinned by Benner's pedagogical framework, were developed with the intention of moving students from novice to competent clinical bioscience users. The videos are highly successful; with over 310,000 views, 1.5 million minutes of viewing and more than 5000 subscribers since its inception (<20 months). Spontaneous comments as well as evidence from students identified their usefulness, suggesting the videos enrich student experience and performance with perceivably difficult biosciences content. Student confidence and subsequent access of the YouTube videos was enhanced by their familiarity with the presenter and the breadth of information available in small portions, creating a solid basis for the development of bioscience-competent nursing graduates. Moreover, these open source videos provide a free resource for continual revision and professional development informed by an international minimum bioscience standard for nurses post registration.