For nursing students in the education system in Saudi Arabia, English-language writing skills, whether for general or specific purposes, have long been ignored, which may jeopardize their success in medical-oriented courses and their future careers. This study designed clinical nursing note-writing course (CNNWC) for university nursing students and explored the teaching outcomes of its implementation. The three main objectives were to (a) examine the effectiveness of the CNNWC in enhancing learners’ competencies; (b) survey learners’ satisfaction with the CNNWC, and (c) investigate learners’ perceptions of the CNNWC. In this action research, 47 students practiced four writing tasks while guided with four teaching tools, namely, multiple revisions, peer review activities, and direct and indirect teacher feedback, for a semester. External examiners included a language teacher and a nursing professional, and the data-collection instruments used included a writing competence scale and a course satisfaction questionnaire. The results showed that the learners’ writing competence significantly improved after the CNNWC. They also demonstrated a fair level of satisfaction toward the CNNWC. The learners indicated a preference for feedback from the teacher rather than from peers, and they perceived vocabulary capability to be crucial. ESP/ENP teachers are advised to consider the implementation of the CNNWC when designing syllabi.
Keywords: clinical note writing, nursing education; EFL; ESP; ENP
