Satisfaction and self-confidence of nursing students in simulated scenarios with the use of unpleasant odors: randomized clinical trial

AIMS: To compare the satisfaction and self-confidence of nursing students in simulated clinical activities with and without the presence of odors. METHODS: A randomized clinical trial enrolled undergraduate nursing students 18 years of age or older randomly allocated to Intervention Group (participation in simulated scenarios with odors) or Control Group (participation in simulated scenarios with the same themes, but without odors). The odors were obtained with fermented foods. Students who already had professional practice in nursing were excluded. Data were collected using an Instrument for Characterization and Perception of Subjects, the Satisfaction with Simulated Clinical Experiences Scale and the Student Satisfaction and Self-confidence in Learning Scale. For analysis of the data, we performed an exploratory statistic, with frequency, percentage, and Cronbach Alpha reliability test for the scales, and after sample analysis by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Student's t-test was used to compare means. RESULTS: A total of 100 nursing students, 55 of the intervention group (scenario with presence of odors) and 45 of the control group (scenario without odors) participated in the study. High Cronbach's alpha values were found for both the Satisfaction with Simulated Clinical Experiences Scale (0.862) and the Student Satisfaction and Self-confidence in Learning Scale (0.842) and high scores for satisfaction and self-confidence in learning in both groups. In the comparison of means there were no significant differences between the values attributed to satisfaction and self-confidence, in the intervention group and in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: There were high scores attributed to satisfaction and self-confidence among the participants, however, when compared, in this sample, there was no difference in satisfaction and self-confidence between groups that used simulated scenarios with and without the presence of unpleasant odors. However, the use of odors in the scenarios was highlighted by the participants as stimulating elements to the use of personal protection equipment and also to stimulating the learning of nonverbal communication.