Learning Outcomes Attributed to Prelicensure Clinical Education in Nursing: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research

Bibliometric analysis of nursing education reviews

BACKGROUND

While the number of reviews of nursing education research has increased over the years, bibliometric studies about these reviews are limited.

OBJECTIVES

The purposes were to: (1) examine the number of reviews of nursing education research published from 2018 through 2022, (2) identify journals publishing these reviews, (3) identify the types and topics of reviews in nursing education, and (4) analyze how these reviews are labeled (standard versus nonstandard).

DESIGN

This was a bibliometric study of reviews in nursing education.

METHODS

The search for reviews in nursing education was done using CINAHL Complete via the EBSCO host platform and was limited to articles published in peer reviewed journals. The results were imported into EndNote, and the title or abstract was used to identify the review type. The categorized reviews were then exported into Microsoft Excel. The titles and abstracts were searched to identify reviews in nursing education, resulting in 600 articles analyzed in this study. The topics of the reviews were identified via natural language processing techniques based on the Medical Subject Headings biomedical vocabulary in the manual tags with each article.

RESULTS

The number of reviews has steadily increased over the years. The top journal in which reviews were published was Nurse Education Today (n = 197). Nearly a quarter (n = 149, 24.8 %) of the reviews were integrative, followed by systematic (n = 117, 19.5 %), scoping (n = 117, 19.5 %), and literature (n = 85, 14.2 %). There were 12 main topics: most reviews were on simulation, followed by critical thinking methods and the academic achievement of nursing students.

CONCLUSION

This study documented an increase in the number of reviews of nursing education research over the last five years. The most common type was an integrative review, followed by systematic, scoping, and literature. Reviews on simulation were most common.

Bridging the experience-complexity gap with longitudinal clinical placements

BACKGROUND

Clinical learning is a critical element to prepare nursing students for the profession. There is limited evidence on the experience-complexity gap among novice nursing students entering the workforce.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to implement a novel longitudinal clinical experience program and examined readiness for practice for undergraduate nursing students.

METHODS

We used a prospective cohort design using the Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice survey.

FINDINGS

There have been 2,004 clinical placements filled since the start of the program. Repeated exposure at one organization provided consistency and continuity while allowing students to develop relationships with patients and staff in a variety of settings. The medical-surgical two clinical experience was a pivotal course that influenced students' perception to enter the nursing workforce.

DISCUSSION

Clinical and academic partners must collaborate to provide the necessary competencies required to enter the workforce. Longitudinal clinical programs may improve nursing students readiness for practice.

CONCLUSION

The continous and immersive nature of the longitudinal clinical experience program facilitated the development of critical thinking skills and clinical competence, suggesting that longitudinal clinical placements can bridge the experience-complexity gap in nursing education.

Educational Outcomes in Undergraduate Nursing: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Baccalaureate nursing education has experienced tremendous challenges requiring new flexibility of moving among traditional classroom, online education, and other teaching modalities to improve student outcomes, combined with the pressing need for determining which educational methods deliver quality instruction while having a positive effect on outcomes. This systematic review explored different teaching modalities and measurable educational student outcomes in undergraduate baccalaureate education.

METHOD

A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

RESULTS

Of the 20 articles included in this systematic review, simulation, face-to-face, asynchronous, problem-based learning, gaming, flipped classrooms, reflective writing, tweets, and podcasts were represented. Three distinct educational outcomes that were identified included competence, confidence, and communication.

CONCLUSION

A variety of educational methodologies drives positive outcomes in educating the next generation of nurses to have increased competence, confidence, and improved communication. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(6):380-386.].