Objective:To explore the effect of motivation theory application in the opened nursing laboratory management by students. Methods:The students in class 2010 as control group used traditional method to self-manage the laboratory, while the students in class 2011 as observation group got different motivation in different periods of the semester when they managed the open nursing lab. Then, their operation test scores and comprehensive ability scores were compared. Results:The operation test scores of observation group were statistically higher than that of control group. The level of communicati...