Learning Styles in Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction. Learning styles are a versatile tool for the development of new competencies in students. The integration of these preferences in the training of nursing professionals offers an opportunity to improve the quality of clinical care, aligning with the approach of the profession. Objective. To evaluate the preference of learning styles in nursing students in the third year of the nursing degree. Method. A quantitative, cross-sectional cohort study was conducted. The universe consisted of 275 nursing students, the sample 161 calculated with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%. The Learning Styles Scale (LSS) was used, which consists of 22 items; the data analysis was performed using the SPSS software version 26 for descriptive statistical analysis that calculated frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation. Results. The competitive domain, followed by the solitary domain, reached a higher mean of performance, results that are particularly important in nursing, a complex and demanding profession, but do not contribute to teamwork and decision-making in complex situations, skills necessary for the development of the profession. Conclusions. The perceptual domain evaluated reached the lowest mean in terms of the learning styles preferred by students, in relation to the competitive and solitary domains that reached greater preference.