The Application of CDIO-Based CBL Teaching Model in the Clinical Teaching of Operating Room Nursing: A prospective controlled study

Background/Aim: Traditional teaching methods in operating room nursing education may not fully develop the integrative clinical thinking and self-directed learning skills required in modern practice. Innovative pedagogical models combining structured engineering approaches (CDIO) with CBL have been proposed to bridge this gap. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a conceive-design- implement-operate (CDIO)-based case-based learning (CBL) model on the clinical teaching of operating room nursing interns. Methods A prospective controlled study included nursing interns at a tertiary hospital from June 2023 to June 2024. Fifty undergraduate nursing interns who were assigned to the operating room in June 2023 comprised the control group, while another 50 interns in the same department in June 2024 were assigned to the observation group. The observation group received the CDIO-based CBL teaching model, whereas the control group followed the traditional teaching. After four weeks, effectiveness was evaluated by comparing theoretical knowledge, clinical practical skills, self-directed learning (SDL) ability, clinical thinking ability, teaching quality, and teaching satisfaction between the two groups. Results Compared with the scores of the interns in the control group, the theoretical and clinical practice skills scores of the interns in the observation group significantly improved ( P  < 0.05). In the evaluation of SDL ability and clinical thinking ability, the scores of the control group were lower than those of the observation group, with a statistical difference ( P  < 0.05). For the intervention group, the teaching quality and teaching satisfaction scores were significantly higher than those of the control group ( P  < 0.05). Conclusions The CDIO-based CBL teaching model in nursing interns education for the operating room can effectively improve assessment scores, SDL ability, and clinical thinking ability, while elevating the quality of teaching, ensuring scientific rigor, rationality, and practicality.