| Summary: | The clinical competency of pre-registration nursing students has raised questions about the proficiency of teaching strategies used to teach clinical skills in the undergraduate nursing programme. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of teaching clinical skills using a multiple intelligences teaching approach (MITA), which is underpinned by Gardner’s theory (1983) of multiple intelligences. This study employed a randomised controlled trial with first year nursing students (n=90) in one third-level institute in Ireland. Participants were randomly allocated to a control group (conventional teaching) (n=44) and an experimental group (MITA intervention) (n=46) to learn clinical skills. From a suite of twelve clinical skills taught, three clinical skills were assessed and included hand washing, sub cutaneous injection and nebuliser therapy. The outcome was skill performance measured by the results in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).Participant preference for learning was measured by the Index of Learning Styles (ILS). Participants’ multiple intelligence (MI) preferences were measured with a multiple intelligences development assessment scale (MIDAS), which included intellectual styles. MI assessment preferences were measured by a multiple intelligences assessment preferences questionnaire. The MITA intervention was evaluated using a questionnaire. Results showed that participants in the experimental group had higher scores in all three OSCEs examined (p<0.05) at Time 1, suggesting that MITA had a positive effect on clinical skill acquisition. The strongest preference on ILS for both groups was the sensing style. The highest MI on the MIDAS questionnaire for both groups was interpersonal intelligence. The assessment preferences questionnaire results showed that the majority of students favoured practical examinations, followed by multiple choice questions and short answer questions, as methods of assessment. The participants in the experimental group were positive about the MITA intervention. The findings of this study support the use of MITA for clinical skills teaching and advance the understanding of how MI approaches to teaching may be used in nursing education. This study builds upon the limited body of knowledge regarding the use of MI teaching strategies in a third level setting for clinical skills teaching. The findings may assist nurse educators in their choice of teaching strategies for clinical skills teaching that meets learner needs and promotes effective learning. Future research is needed to test the effectiveness of using the MITA intervention in practice placement settings to augment clinical skills laboratory teaching.
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