Developing Clinical Judgment about Complementary and Integrative Herbal Medicines

With the ease of accessibility of online information and over-the-counter supplements, more individuals are able to use complementary and integrative herbal medicines (CIHM). Nurses are in the best position to properly assess, educate, and counsel their patients about CIHM. The purpose of this learning activity was to develop clinical judgment about CIHM among prelicensure nursing students in a virtual learning environment. We used an online interactive learning application, which enabled students to develop and present their ideas in a collaborative virtual environment. In their preassigned groups, students developed an online interactive presentation in which they applied their knowledge of pharmacological and medication regulatory principles to evaluate the properties of each CIHM. The students also critically appraised research evidence pertaining to their selected CIHM and developed nursing and educational implications for each CIHM. We used a standardize rubric to assess the students’ performance and teamwork collaboration on the project. This activity was easy to implement, and fostered teamwork and collaboration between students in an online environment. The learning activity is provided in the Supplemental Digital Content.