Active methodologies in teaching the nursing process: Scoping review

Abstract

Aim

To map the use of active methodologies in nursing education for teaching the nursing process.

Background

The nursing process is a systematic approach essential for clinical reasoning, guiding nursing diagnoses and care planning, execution and evaluation. Its teaching requires strategies that engage students in active learning to foster evidence-based practice.

Design

Scoping review performed according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis.

Methods

The review involved seven steps: defining review questions, establishing eligibility criteria, designing search strategies, screening and selecting evidence, extracting data, analyzing results and presenting findings. Searches were conducted in July 2023 and updated in February 2024 on the databases Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The review targeted graduate and undergraduate nursing students (Population), the nursing process (Concept) and active teaching methodologies (Context), guided by the PCC framework.

Results

The 101 included studies present key active strategies such as clinical simulation, case-based learning, web-based learning, problem-based learning, concept mapping, virtual simulation, electronic record systems, clinical practice and laboratory activities. Nursing assessment was the most frequently taught step, followed by diagnosis, interventions, evaluation and outcomes.

Conclusion

Active methodologies consistently demonstrated positive impacts on critical competencies, fostering critical thinking, clinical reasoning and judgment. Integrating these strategies with traditional approaches in undergraduate nursing curricula enhances the application of theoretical knowledge in clinical practice.