Comparing the Training of the Mass Casualty Incident Triage by the Virtual Workshop and Non-virtual Workshop (Face-to-Face) on the Nursing Students' Learning and Satisfaction

Introduction: Workshop training is one of the most effective learning methods. This study aims to compare the effect of virtual and face-to-face workshop training on students' learning and satisfaction. Methods: A three-group intervention study with before and after measurements was conducted with the participation of 106 nursing students. A convenient method of assigning replacement blocks was used. The groups included three groups, a virtual workshop, a face-to-face workshop, and a control. The data collection tool included a demographic form, and researcher-made awareness, performance, and satisfaction questionnaire. The content validity of the tool was confirmed by experts in the fields of nursing, health in disasters and emergencies, and medical education. The reliability of the tool using test-retest and Cronbach's alpha was 0.858. Awareness and performance were evaluated before and after the study. Satisfaction was checked at the end of the study. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance with SPSS 23 software. Results: Most of the students were female (55.66%), with an average age of 22.75 ± 2.05, single (93.4%), seventh semester (59.43%), without experience of participating in the training workshop (67.9%), and reading the book related to triage with mass casualty incident (MCI) (81.13%). Before the intervention, the groups had no significant difference in terms of awareness (P = 0.169) and performance (P = 0.296), while after the intervention, the difference was significant (P ˂ 0.001). After the intervention, the most awareness and performance were related to the face-to-face workshop. A significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of satisfaction (P ˂ 0.001). In the face-to-face workshop, 43.42% were very satisfied and 36.36% were satisfied, while very satisfied students did not exist in the virtual workshop and only 22.44% of students were satisfied. Satisfaction in the control group was moderate and poor. Conclusion: Since the face-to-face workshop increased students' awareness, performance, and satisfaction, it is suggested to use face-to-face educational workshops to improve the scientific level of nursing students before graduation.