Prospective randomized controlled study on the hybrid teaching model in urological clinical nursing education under the digital background

Blended learning may help improve the learning outcomes of clinical nursing education, but evidence from randomized controlled trials remains limited. This prospective randomized controlled study enrolled 80 nursing interns, who were randomly assigned to either a traditional teaching group or a blended learning group for one month. Compared with the control group, the experimental group achieved higher scores in self-directed learning (116.0 ± 16.0 vs. 108.0 ± 18.8; p = 0.045), total score in critical thinking tendency (257.8 ± 26.0 vs. 247.4 ± 16.8; p = 0.036), theoretical score (87.1 ± 9.0 vs. 83.5 ± 6.4; p = 0.043), daily performance score (94.1 ± 2.6 vs. 86.5 ± 8.1; p < 0.001), case report presentation score (73.9 ± 6.0 vs. 71.4 ± 4.6; p = 0.044), and total assessment score (90.0 ± 3.2 vs. 85.4 ± 3.4; p < 0.001). After Holm correction, open-mindedness remained significant. There were no significant differences in practical skills scores and teaching satisfaction among the groups. These findings suggest that blended learning may improve self-directed learning, critical thinking skills, and some assessment outcomes, but further validation in larger, multicenter trials is needed.