Effect of postmortem care education using a creative drama method on nursing students' knowledge, skills, and satisfaction: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Postmortem care is one of the most difficult aspects of the nursing profession and is frequently given in healthcare settings today. It is important to provide appropriate teaching experiences in order to prepare nursing students for their future professional roles in postmortem care.Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the effect of a creative drama method on nursing students' postmortem care knowledge and skill levels, learning retention, and satisfaction with the education method.Design: A randomized controlled model with a pretest-posttest control group was used in this study. Settings: One university school of nursing in Turkey. Participants: The sample consisted of 70 nursing students.Method: Information about postmortem care was shared with the control group using the classical education method of lectures and demonstration techniques, while the experimental group was taught with a creative drama method. Research data were collected with the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Postmortem Care Knowledge Test, Postmortem Care Skills Checklist, and Education Methods Satisfaction Survey.Results: It was observed that the postmortem care education provided to both experimental and control group was effective in improving the knowledge and skill levels of nursing students regarding postmortem care (p < 0.05). However, the knowledge and skill levels of the experimental group regarding postmortem care, learning retention, and level of satisfaction with the education method were higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Creative drama was thus found to be a more effective method than the classical education method in providing postmortem care education to nursing students. In addition, it was observed that the students were more satisfied with the education given with creative drama.