Evidence-Based Virtual Learning Experiences for the Clinical Nurse Leader Capstone

Design and Implementation of a Nursing Capstone Across a Multisite Health System

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created profound effects in nursing education. Using a robust academic-practice partnership, a college of nursing and a health care organization collaborated to launch Jefferson Capstone Experience (JCE), an education delivery model that included a one-to-one, 108-hour clinical preceptorship between an experienced RN and an undergraduate nursing student.

METHOD

The expedited design, implementation, and evaluation of JCE is described. The mixed-method program evaluation included surveys, interviews, and focus groups with students, faculty, and preceptors.

RESULTS

Students and preceptors reported high levels of satisfaction with JCE. All parties emphasized the importance of clear and timely communication, academic practice collaboration, and organization. A significant number of capstone graduates accepted a position with a capstone clinical partner.

CONCLUSION

Although the logistics of planning and implementation were challenging, an immersive and largely positive experience was created for undergraduate students, which created a robust hiring pipeline of new-to-practice nurses. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):292-297.].

Purpose, Planning, and Individualization of Master of Science in Nursing Capstone Experiences: An Integrative Review

BACKGROUND

Graduate-level education programs use capstone experiences for students to demonstrate achieving essential learning and programmatic outcomes. However, a lack of standardization of these experiences and outcome measurements could result in varying competencies among students with the same degree. Employers seeking specific skills may find this problematic, and graduates may feel unprepared for new roles, which could hinder transition.

METHOD

A systematic search of nine databases was conducted to identify: (1) the essential characteristics of master in nursing capstones and (2) the assessments programs use to demonstrate achievement of program outcomes.

RESULTS

Synthesis and analysis of six sources of evidence revealed uniform agreement in purpose, planning, and individualization of experiences, yet ways of assessing student achievement of program outcomes were less clear and varied widely.

CONCLUSION

Capstone experiences should be relevant to graduate-level education and include mapping to program outcomes to ensure students' competency and readiness to transition into their new role. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(9):502-508.].

Global Trends and Hot-Spots in Research on Virtual Simulation in Nursing: A Bibliometric Analysis From 1999 to 2021

Background

Virtual simulation has been widely used in nursing education and nursing training. This study aims to characterize the publications in terms of countries, institutions, journals, authors, collaboration relationships, and analyze the trends of virtual simulation in nursing research.

Methods

Publications regarding virtual simulation in nursing were retrieved from Web of Science core collection. Microsoft Excel 2010, VOSviewer were used to characterize the contributions of the authors, journals, institutions, and countries. The trends, hot-spots and knowledge network were analyzed by Citespace and VOSviewer.

Results

We identified 677 papers between 1999 and 2021. The number of publications grew slowly until 2019, after that, it got a sharp increase in 2020 and 2021. The USA, Canada and Australia were three key contributors to this field. Centennial College and University of San Paulo, University of Ottawa and Ryerson University were top major institutions with a larger number of publications. Verkuyl M was the most productive and highest cited author. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, Nurse Education Today, Journal of Nursing Education were the three productive journals. The foundational themes of virtual simulation research in nursing are “virtual learning during COVID-19, clinical nursing care, education in nurse practitioners, education technology”.

Conclusion

Virtual simulation in nursing field has attracted considerable attention during COVID-19 pandemic. The research hotspot is gradually shifting from clinical nursing care to studies of nursing education using different virtual simulation technologies