Integrating Design Thinking Into Undergraduate Nursing Education: a Pilot RCT

Subjects A group of 50 second-year undergraduate nursing students at CUHK Nethersole School of Nursing who volunteer to participate in the research. Participants will be randomly assigned to either: i) Intervention group (n=25): Receives the design thinking workshop; ii) Control group (n=25): Receives no intervention (continues with regular curriculum). According to Hertzog (2008), a minimum of 25 subjects per group would be considered sufficient for the purposes of pilot testing. Students who have prior experience in joining design thinking workshop will be excluded.

Methodology This study employs a pilot randomized controlled design to evaluate the impact of a design thinking workshop on undergraduate nursing students' problem-solving abilities and related skills. The methodology encompasses a comprehensive literature review, pre- and post-workshop assessments, and a 3-hour introductory workshop on design thinking principles applied to healthcare challenges.

1. Systematic review and preparation of material A systematic review will be conducted to examine existing applications of design thinking in healthcare education, particularly in nursing, informing workshop curriculum development in terms of content, delivery method and evaluation approach.
2. Pre-Workshop Evaluation An online survey one month before the workshop will be conducted to assess participants' baseline skills and attitudes using validated instruments. These instruments measure problem-solving abilities, empathy, creativity, collaboration, and patient-centered care attitudes.
3. Design Thinking Workshop A 3-hour introductory workshop will cover the five stages of design thinking: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Students will work on scenario of real-world healthcare challenges, and apply design thinking principles to develop innovative solutions.
4. Post-Workshop Evaluation Immediately after the workshop, participants will complete a post-workshop survey using the same instruments as the pre-workshop evaluation, allowing for comparison of scores.