Effects of Theoretical and Clinical Education on Nursing Students’ Knowledge and Attitude Toward the Organ Donation Process

Organ transplantation is a significant achievement in modern medicine, closely linked to public understanding of brain death and organ donation. Nursing students play a vital role in promoting organ donation. This study aims to evaluate the effects of theoretical and combined theoretical-clinical training on nursing students' attitudes and knowledge regarding organ donation.

An experimental pre- and post-test design study was conducted with 90 nursing students from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and Islamic Azad University. Participants were divided into three groups: one received only theoretical training, the second received combined theoretical-clinical training by attending patient bedsides, and the third group served as a control with no training. All groups completed researcher-developed questionnaires before and after the intervention.

Knowledge and attitudes significantly improved in the theoretical and combined training groups compared to the control group (p <0.05). However, no significant difference in knowledge was found between the two intervention groups (p >0.05).

The study indicates that both training methods enhance nursing students' knowledge and attitudes toward organ donation, with clinical exposure notably improving attitudes. This highlights the importance of experiential learning in nursing education to prepare students as advocates for organ donation. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of such training on knowledge retention and actual organ donation rates.

Theoretical training significantly enhanced knowledge, while both training interventions improved attitudes. This suggests that integrating clinical practice with theoretical training is crucial for fostering nursing students’ advocacy for organ donation.