Pain management is a core competency in nursing practice, yet nursing students consistently demonstrate insufficient knowledge, unfavorable attitudes, limited competence, and low self-efficacy in this area. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based educational tools, particularly ChatGPT, have emerged as promising resources in nursing education; however, rigorous experimental evidence on their effectiveness remains scarce.
This study is a two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to evaluate the effect of a ChatGPT-driven blended teaching model for pain management on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes toward pain, nursing competence, and learning self-efficacy.
Eligible nursing students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either:
* Intervention group: ChatGPT-assisted blended clinical nursing rounds (8 sessions over 4 weeks, each 90 minutes, combining bedside rounds with AI-assisted pre- and post-round activities)
* Control group: Traditional clinical nursing rounds (same number and duration of sessions, without any AI tools)
Outcomes will be measured at baseline (1 week before intervention), immediate post-test (1 week after intervention), and 3-month follow-up using validated instruments: the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (NKASRP), the Nursing Student Competence Scale (NSCS), and the Nursing Students' Learning Self-Efficacy instrument (NLSE).
Findings will provide empirical evidence to guide educational policy and curriculum design in nursing programs, with the goal of improving pain management education and patient care outcomes.