Nursing student's learning in an anatomical observation practice: A text mining analysis of anatomical observation practice reports

<p>The purpose of this study was to analyze the reports of second-year Faculty of Nursing students in an anatomical observation practice in order to clarify the characteristics of students' perspectives and thought processes as well as the content of their learning regarding the internal structure of the living body. Student reports “In preparation for the anatomical observation practice” (before) and “Following the anatomical observation practice” (after) were analyzed, and the subjects were informed that participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw their consent. Consent was obtained from 169 out of 203 students (response rate: 83.3%).</p><p>Using KH-Coder, student reports' description contents were organized by attribute, and word frequency, co-occurrence network, and correspondence analysis were performed and structured. In the before-after correspondence analysis, word and phrases based on time axis and individual experiences were characterized.</p><p>The analysis of the post-practice reports revealed the following: “Deepening understanding by seeing, touching, and feeling the organs”, “Clear understanding of the shape and position of each organ, student's correction of their image of the organs, surprise at the difference between the actual state of the organs and the student's own perception, and understanding that there are individual differences between subjects”, “Nurturing thought processes such as clinical reasoning of the nurse”, “Gratitude for donors and their families”, and “reaffirmation of the origin of nursing science along with appreciation and strengthening of responsibility and awareness as a nurse”.</p><p>The teaching method and issues to be addressed when nursing faculty members are in charge of anatomical observation practice were considered.</p>