The effectiveness of an integrated CBL and BOPPPS model in neurological nursing clinical teaching: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop an integrated teaching plan that combines case-based learning (CBL) with the BOPPPS teaching model, its application effect in clinical practice education for neurological nursing, and provide an optimized pathway for training specialized nursing personnel. METHODS: We conducted a single-centre, non-randomized quasi-experimental study with two parallel groups. Eighty-six nursing students who completed internships in our hospital from September 2024 to August 2025 were allocated to two groups by internship batch (43 per group); allocation was therefore non-random. The control group received the lecture-based learning (LBL) teaching model, and the experimental group received the combination of CBL and BOPPPS teaching model. Teaching effectiveness was compared between groups using theoretical assessments, the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), the Chinese Version of the Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI-CV), and a satisfaction survey. Between-group differences were analysed with independent-samples t-tests, corroborated by Mann-Whitney U tests, and reported with Cohen's d effect sizes. RESULTS: The experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group in theoretical knowledge (87.62 vs. 78.45; Cohen's d = 1.51). Clinical practical ability, measured by OSCE, was also significantly higher in the experimental group (85.36 vs. 76.28; d = 1.72). The experimental group also achieved a higher post-internship CTDI-CV total score (289.57 vs. 269.63; d = 1.01). Teaching satisfaction was higher in the experimental group (mean overall score of 92.45 vs. 81.36; d = 2.44). CONCLUSION: In this quasi-experimental setting, the integrated CBL and BOPPPS model was associated with improved theoretical knowledge, clinical practical ability, and critical thinking dispositions of nursing interns in neurology, and with higher students' learning satisfaction. These findings suggest the model is a promising approach to clinical teaching that warrants further multi-centre, randomized evaluation before broad promotion in specialized nursing education.