Web-Based Gamified Simulation for Teaching Ventrogluteal Injection to First-Year Nursing Students

The goal of this study is to find out whether a web-based simulation with game features helps first-year nursing students learn how to give an injection into the muscle on the side of the hip, known as the ventrogluteal site. The study will compare this approach with traditional teaching at Cankiri Karatekin University in Türkiye. The main questions are whether the web-based simulation improves students' knowledge and practical skills, increases their satisfaction and confidence in learning, and helps them remember what they have learned after eight weeks. All participants will receive the same initial classroom teaching and laboratory demonstration. They will then be assigned by chance to one of two groups. One group will receive traditional teaching. The other group will use the web-based simulation, which includes a patient scenario and interactive tasks, such as selecting equipment and moving items to a tray. The simulation has two modes. In the learning mode, students receive hints and explanations without being scored. In the self-test mode, they complete tasks without hints and receive a score report for feedback. Students must answer correctly before moving to the next step. Participants will complete a knowledge test, a practical skills assessment using an injection training model, and a questionnaire about satisfaction and confidence before the group-specific training and again one week afterward. They will repeat the knowledge test eight weeks after training to assess how much they remember. Practical skills will be assessed by two observers who do not know which teaching group each student belongs to.

Inclusion Criteria: * Being a first-year nursing student enrolled in the Fundamentals of Nursing I course at Cankiri Karatekin University during the fall semester of the 2026-2027 academic year. * Taking the course for the first time. * Voluntarily agreeing to participate and providing written informed consent. * Agreeing to attend all planned theoretical, laboratory, and study sessions. Exclusion Criteria: * Having difficulty understanding Turkish to an extent that prevents participation in the educational activities or completion of the assessment tools. * Being a graduate of a health vocational high school. * Having previously received formal training in intramuscular injection techniques.