The effectiveness of visualization as a strategy to teach intramuscular injection administration to nursing students

Visualization is a technique researched extensively in a variety of disciplines for its effects on psychomotor skill learning. Although the results of such studies support the use of visualization as a teaching strategy, the effectiveness of using visualization in psychomotor skill learning in nursing education has rarely been investigated. Of the few nursing studies that have been done, the results were inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of visualization as a strategy to teach second year undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students how to administer a medication by intramuscular (I.M.) injection. The use of visualization with video demonstration and physical practice was compared to using only video demonstration and physical practice to teach this group of students I.M. injection administration. Stallings'(1982) Information Processing Model was used to conceptualize visualization in relation to psychomotor skill learning. An experimental, post test only design was used to test the effectiveness of using visualization as a teaching strategy. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 37 nursing students learning to administer I.M. injections for the first time. Two instruments were used in the data collection procedure. First, prior to learning I.M. injection administration in a scheduled laboratory, students were rated on their ability to produce mental images using The Betts' Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery (QMI) Vividness of Imagery Scale (Sheehan, 1967). The scores from this test were used to rate participants as having either a high or low imaging ability. High and low imagers were equally divided between the treatment and control groups. At the end of the injections laboratory, all study participants had one of their I.M. injections video-taped. Upon completion of the injections laboratory sessions, the investigator viewed the video tapes and rated each participant's performance using The I.M. Injection Performance Appraisal (Klimek, 1994). The data were analyzed by using the univariate factorial (2X2) analysis of variance (ANOVA). Analysis of the data revealed no significant effect of the visualization treatment on participants' performance scores. However, several methodological and conceptual problems within the study's design and in the utilization of Stallings' conceptual framework could be responsible for the lack of significant findings. The implications of the findings for nursing education, practice, and administration were discussed.Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofGraduat