Use of guest speakers in nursing education: an integrative review of multidisciplinary literature

Figures & data

Figure 1 The flow diagram of study selection.

Table 1 Characteristics of included articles

	Authors and Publish Year	Discipline/Field	Research purpose	Research method	Sample number, characteristics, and setting	Significant findings
1	Hite et al (1985)	Marketing	To determine the effect of test expectancy with regard to student learning and evaluations of guest speakers.	Quasi-experimental design, nonrandomization, has a control group	63 marketing Students Senior-level retailing class at a university In the USA classroom	● A more positive overall experience took place when students do expect to be tested. ● The test-expectant group reported paying closer attention and taking more notes during the presentation, and evaluated the guest speaker more favorably than did the group who did not expect a test.
2	Cloud & Sweeney (1988)	Journalism	To share experiences of using guest speakers in classroom	Expert opinion from two university professors	n/a A university in the USA Classroom	● Effective guest speakers will fill a specific course objective. They will cover important material, and the illustrations will be provocative because they will be fresh from the industry. ● The guest lecture is only one way to effectively use visitors. ● The most effective class visitors have been recent former students talking about getting a job and what the first job is really like.
3	Nourse (1995)	Business	To describe how to use campus talents as guest speakers for business communication course	Expert opinion from an university instructor	n/a Undergraduate business communication class from a university. in the USA. Classroom	● Individuals from departments as diverse as home economics, research and development, and academic computing can be approached as potential guest speakers for the undergraduate course. ● Experts from the campus community can be tapped to lend expertise and insights into many topics usually included in the business communication curriculum.
4	Mooney (1998)	Sociology	To examine the impact of faculty guest speakers on introductory sociology students on: (1) certainty of registering for another sociology course, majoring in sociology, or minoring in sociology, (2) interest in taking another sociology class, and (3) perception of sociology as applicable to their lives, to their careers, and as a valued course of study.	Quasi-experimental design, 2 groups with a control, nonrandomization	79 Sociology students, Introduction to Sociology course at a university In the USA Classroom	● The results indicate that the experimental manipulation had very little impact on the dependent variables. ● This study led to a discussion of the role and content of the introductory course and some suggestions for enhancing student recruitment efforts
5	Metrejean et al (2002)	Accounting	Describes the planning and implementation of a guest speaker event and summarize the student feedback regarding the merit of this event.	Exploratory/descriptive study, cross-sectional study	158 students in 6 undergraduate accounting majors’ classes in a university In the USA Classroom	● According to student feedback, accounting professionals in the classroom provide a very effective real-life learning experience for students. ● A successful guest speaker event benefits students, educators, guest speakers, and the university. ● Feedback from student surveys indicates that the students enjoyed and benefited from the speaker events. ● Additional student comments provide strong support for the use of guest speakers in the classroom.
6	Bell (2003)	Librarian	Explains Webcasts and discusses how they can be used for teaching.	Expert opinion from a librarian in a university	n/a In the USA Online	● Discussed topics include Webcast technology; streaming audio and video; bandwidth capacity; locating Webcasts, including search engine strategies for the Internet; using Webcasts in the classroom; similarities with other multimedia materials; expectations for students and faculty; and future possibilities.
7	Hess (2004)	Education (democracy education)	To present how to involve politicians, political activists, and candidates in interactive lessons to maximize student engagement and learning.	Expert opinion from a university professor	n/a In the USA Classroom	● The author suggested that having outside resource people involved in interactive lessons positively influenced what students learned about the political and legal systems.
8	Hemphill & Hemphill (2007)	Technology/tele-communication	To investigate the impact of virtual guest speakers facilitating asynchronous discussions.	Exploratory/Descriptive study	16 graduate students, 2 guest speakers, and 1 instructor online instructional technology course in a USA university Online guest speaker for an online course	● The higher-order thinking occurred and student participation remained high throughout the length of threaded discussions, regardless of the amount of postings and time spent by the guests. ● The findings support that guest speakers can be used sparingly in online discussions while still maintaining the quality of the online discussion and frequent, meaningful interactions among students.
9	McCleary & Weaver (2008)	Hospitality and tourism	To address the benefits of having industry speakers on campus, and suggest ways to enhance the value of the speaking engagement	Expert opinion from 2 professors in a university	n/a Hospitality and Tourism programs in the USA Classroom	● Industry guest speakers bring benefits to students and strengthen relationship with schools. ● A flow model of effective guest speakers has been proposed.
10	Eveleth & Baker-Eveleth (2009)	Business and economics	To describe an expansion of the traditional guest speaker activity to the use of discussion threads in course management software to link students with guest speakers	Expert opinion from 2 university professors	Courses: Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Managing Technical Teams, Human Resources Management, and Business Telecommunications Management. University in the USA. Online guest speakers in online discussion (WebCT and Blackboard) of a traditional classroom course	● Anecdotal evidence suggests that the guest speaker activity is well liked and that the guest speaker visits impact students’ acceptance and understanding of the material.
11	Farruggio (2011)	Education (language)	To describe and discuss the use of a virtual guest speaker in a voluntary asynchronous discussion forum at the conclusion of a bilingual teacher preparation course	Qualitative study, retrospective survey, discourse analysis	22 bilingual students in teacher education program. ESL Methods course, undergraduate bilingual teacher preparation program. In the USA Online guest speaker	● It is noted that the emergence of discussion themes are uniquely attributable to the guest speaker’s participation, and important to the fields of bilingual teacher education and online discussions. ● An online dialogue with a guest speaker who has genuine expertise and a willingness to engage with students can strengthen students’ professional preparation
12	Zorek et al (2011)	Pharmacy	To evaluate the impact of guest speakers on student development in a professional development seminar series	Cross-sectional design, 28-item survey instrument	68 students in a professional development seminar series, over 5 semesters. Undergraduate pharmacy education program In the USA Classroom seminar	● Forty-six (68%) students completed the survey instrument, and the results demonstrated the value of the guest speakers, most notably in the areas of career development and professional responsibility. ● Exposing pharmacy students to guest speakers from varied pharmacy career paths positively impacted students’ knowledge of career options and professional development.
13	Strickland et al (2012)	Nursing	To present an evaluation of the introduction of podcasts in an undergraduate research module to enhance research-teaching linkages.	Cross-sectional survey	71 students responded in 2 cohorts University in UK Online module	● The use of podcasts increased understanding achieved by students due to the multimodal delivery approach, a more personal student/tutor relationship leading to greater engagement, and the effective use of materials for revision and consolidation purposes. ● Negative effects of the podcasts centred on problems with the technology, most often difficulty in downloading and accessing the material.
14	Wetzel (2012)	Kinesiology	To describe how physical education and health teachers use guest speakers in their teaching in schools	Expert opinion from a university professor	n/a University in the USA Classroom	● Inviting guest speakers can help support and expand both individual program and the entire curriculum. ● Possible guest speakers might include medical professionals, professionals from local university and community agencies. ● It is suggested developing a list of questions to ask a guest speaker in order to keep focus of interest and provide guidance to a guest speaker.
15	Sage (2013)	Social work	To offer an illustrative example and recommendations regarding the use of guest speakers who visit from a distance in a synchronous classroom	Expert opinion from a university professor	Social work students in an online course University in the USA Online guest speaker for online course	● An instructor embarking upon online teaching should consider interpersonal and technical issues, be familiar with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, and understand other legal implications related to recording a guest speaker. ● Online distance guest speakers will be used in traditional classroom using conferencing software programs such as Skype.
16	McRee et al (2014)	Education (sexual health)	To examine teachers’ practices regarding the inclusion of guest speakers to cover sexuality content.	Cross-sectional study, statewide survey on teachers’ practice	332 public secondary School Teachers University in the USA Classroom	● More than half of teachers (58%) included guest speakers. ● In multivariate analyses, teachers who taught high school had professional preparation in health education, or those who received professional development covering sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy prevention had greater odds of including guest speakers. ● Teachers who included guest speakers covered more sexuality topics and were more likely to cover controversial topics (p<0.05).
17	Badia (2015)	Librarian	To discuss strategies for guest speakers on capturing students’ attention in a guest lecture or one-shot class	Expert opinion from a librarian guest speaker	n/a liaison librarian at McGill University, Canada Classroom	● Strategies described include understanding students’ needs, obtaining buy-in, showing enthusiasm, and incorporating in-class activities.
18	Sortedahl & Imhoff (2016)	Nursing	To evaluate the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and usefulness of a 10-min video as an instructional tool in nursing leadership course for empowering nursing students	Qualitative study	51 undergraduate students in leadership course University in USA Use of virtue speakers in classroom	● Following videotaped interviews with nurse leaders, a 10-min video was produced and shown to students in a nursing leadership course. ● Students noted key aspects of the video that helped them learn and reported that including nurses in hospital leadership positions who targeted their advice to new nurses was beneficial.

Figure 2 Trilateral model of benefits of using guest speakers.