Educational methods used to teach infection prevention and control in nurse training: survey of French training institutes

Context: French nursing students attend classes in Infectiology and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) during their first semester of training. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the educational techniques used in nurse training to teach IPC and evaluate which factors contribute towards successful exams. Method: A study was conducted in October 2021 on 320 nurse training institutes in France. An online questionnaire was developed. Factors predicting student success during exams were researched. Results: In total, 169 institutes took part in the survey, representing 52.8% of all institutes. In these establishments, 91.73% of students passed their IPC examination and the average score was 12.32 out of 20. The exam success rate was significantly linked to the North-West region (Odds Ratio (OR)=1.060, Confidence Interval 95% [CI95%, 1.006-1.117]) and to a number of students higher than 93 (OR=1.034, CI95% [1.004-1.065]) adjusted to the number of educational techniques used. The educational methods applied were varied. There were significant differences in the number of lectures attended and the assessment methods used. Conclusion: The exam success rate was highly satisfactory but the average score achieved on the exam was not very high.