Problem-Based Learning in Situ Applied to Students in the Assessment of Nursing Process

Background: Nursing is considered a science in the making that recognizes the nursing process (NP) as the scientific and methodological tool to provide care. The NP is composed of five stages of which the assessment is the first and fundamental to identify the health problems of the people. This research aimed to evaluate a pedagogical didactic strategy that is based on situated constructivism, the Based-Problem Learning (BPL), in order to improve significant learning. Methods: Quantitative research with an explanatory scope, was transversal, and it was applied to 30 students of the first year of the nursing career at the Faculty of Higher Studies Iztacala, National Autonomous University of Mexico. The sample was chosen considering the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a Likert-type instrument validated in a previous investigation. Results: The average value obtained from the Likert scale to evaluate the intervention was 103.4, the highest score was 135 and the lowest was 83, which reflects that it was evaluated as good and particularly good. The grade given to the teacher as an agent of the ZPD, was between agree and totally agree, the highest percentages scored at 93%, since it provoked challenge in their thinking, and favored interaction among classmates. Conclusions: The application of the in situ teaching strategy, BPL favored significant learning of the assessment stage, the students were able to carry out the assessment in the hospital, the experience contributed to generate significant learning when students face real scenarios, which showed the effectiveness of the method.