Preliminary study of outcome-based clinical practicum for undergraduate nursing students

Students' core competence performance during fundamental nursing practicum: A cross-sectional survey with importance-performance analysis

AIM

Limited available studies compare the core competence performance of students undertaking their practicum at different level-of-care practicum sites. This study aimed to (1) compare the gaps between the perception of importance for competence and the perceived performance of nursing students at practicum sites involving different level-of-care and (2) identify low competencies that must be prioritized for improvement at different sites during the fundamental nursing practicum.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional design.

METHODS

A total of 659 students who had passed their fundamental nursing practicum within 1 month from six nursing colleges in Taiwan were recruited. The students completed the 25-item Core Competence in Fundamental Nursing Practicum Scale, wherein both the importance and performance level of each item are indicated. One-way analysis of variance along with the Scheffe post hoc test and importance-performance analysis were used to explore the gaps between the perception of importance for competence and the perceived performance and to identify weak competencies that must be prioritized for improvement, respectively.

RESULTS

Compared with nursing students practicing in district hospitals (predominantly caring for chronically ill patients), nursing students practicing in medical centres (predominantly caring for patients with severe and critical conditions) had larger gaps in total scores and the application of nursing processes. Students in medical centres also had larger gaps in professional attitude than their counterparts in long-term care facilities. Importance-performance analysis identified a common shortfall in communication skills among nursing students for all level-of-care practicum sites. Students at long-term facilities had the highest number of weak competencies that required improvement. The results of this study can guide instructors in designing curricular activities focused on the weaker core competencies of the students at a practicum site for each level of care.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contributions.

Evaluating the Strengths and Barriers of Competency-Based Education in the Health Professions

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to define competency-based education (CBE) for pharmacy education and describe how strengths and barriers of CBE can support or hinder implementation.

FINDINGS

Sixty-five studies were included from a variety of health professions in order to define competency based pharmacy education (CBPE) and identify barriers and benefits from the learner, faculty, institution, and society perspectives. From the 7 identified thematic categories, a CBPE definition was developed: "Competency-based pharmacy education is an outcomes-based curricular model of an organized framework of competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes) for pharmacists to meet health care and societal needs. This learner-centered curricular model aligns authentic teaching and learning strategies and assessment (emphasizing workplace assessment and quality feedback) while deemphasizing time."

SUMMARY

This article provides a definition of CBE for its application within pharmacy education. The strengths and barriers for CBE were elucidated from other health professions' education literature. Identified implementation strengths and barriers aid in the discussions on what will support or hinder the implementation of CBE in pharmacy education.

2022 Shandong Province university medical technical skills competition nursing track: An effective project to improve core competencies of nursing students

Background

The core competencies of nursing students have gradually become the focus of attention of nursing educators. Nursing skills competitions are an important form of educational and teaching activity in universities and the nursing track at the Shandong Provincial University Students' Medical Technical Skills Competition gives nursing students an opportunity to demonstrate their clinical skills and knowledge. This study aims to describe the organisation and procedures of the nursing track, analyse the competition results and explore the impact the competition has on the core competencies of the nursing students. This will provide new ideas for future nursing professional education.

Methods

Statistical analysis of the competition results was performed as a means of understanding the current status of theoretical knowledge and clinical skills of nursing students in Shandong Province. The impact of the competition on the core competencies of participating students was analysed by distributing questionnaires to universities in Shandong Province that participated in the competition.

Results

14 universities with nursing programmes participated in the competition, including eight public universities and six private universities. 220 questionnaires were distributed to nursing students at the participating universities and 218 were ultimately included, demonstrating an efficiency rate of 99.09%.

Conclusions

The 2022 nursing track included the addition of a comprehensive written examination as a means of judging the competencies of nursing students in Shandong Province from a variety of aspects. Skills competitions are effective for improving the core competencies of nursing students and they will become an important means for nursing educators to reform education and improve the core competencies of nursing students in the future.

The role of the teacher and learning in clinical practicum scales: A psychometric testing of the Finnish versions

AIM

To test the psychometric properties of the further developed Role of the Teacher (Tc2) and the new Learning in Clinical Practicum (LCP) scales in a sample of Finnish healthcare students.

DESIGN

Psychometrical testing of the Tc2 and LCP scales.

METHODS

A sample consisting of 1133 healthcare students completed the further developed Tc2 scale and the new LCP scale between January and June 2020. Statistical data analysis was performed using explorative factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies was applied in reporting.

RESULTS

Both the further developed Tc2 and the new LCP scales were shown to be valid and reliable. Explorative factor analysis confirmed a two-factor solution for the Tc2 scale with a 76.3% explained variance and a one-factor solution for the LCP scale with a 58.0% explained variance. The scales' internal consistency reliabilities were high (0.9).

Transcultural adaptation and validity of the nurse professional competence scale Korean version for graduating nursing students: An explanatory factor analysis

AIM

The study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the short-form Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Korean version (NPC-K) among Korean nursing students at the point of graduation.

DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional survey.

METHODS

The Nurse Professional Competence scale was translated into Korean using the World Health Organization (WHO) translation method. A total of 195 graduating nursing students participated. Exploratory factor analysis for validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficients for reliability were examined.

RESULTS

Factor analysis showed that five NPC-K factors accounted for 68.38% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.97. The NPC-K has high internal reliability and acceptable construct validity. The content of the scale reflected nursing students' confidence in formal competence requirements based on Korean cultural and educational backgrounds. An accurate assessment of nurse professional competence using the NPC-K may help nursing academics enhance the quality of education and training.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Capstone Core Competency Scale on Nursing Students in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have evaluated the competency of newly graduated nurses and nurses. However, most of the instruments used include a large number of items that make completing them a time-consuming process. A brief instrument may be more acceptable and feasible for use in these evaluations.

PURPOSE

This study was designed to develop the brief capstone core competency (CCC or 3C) scale and validate its effectiveness in evaluating the academic and practical performance of nursing students enrolled in a bachelor's degree program.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted. The 3C scale was developed in two phases. In Phase I, the items were summed from literature reviews, an expert panel, known-groups validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, and exploratory factor analysis. In Phase II, the efficacy of the instrument was confirmed using confirmative factor analysis. Five hundred ninety-six participants participated in the first phase, and 520 participants participated in the second phase. The study period was 2016-2017.

RESULTS

The 3C scale includes 24 items distinguished into a three-component structure that accounts for 67.85% of the total variance. The three components include nursing intelligence, nursing humanity, and nursing career. The 3C scale was found to have high levels of internal consistency reliability (.97) and test-retest stability reliability ( r = .97). A significant statistical difference in the performance level was examined between senior and junior nursing students. The hypothesized three-factor model fit index showed χ 2 / df = 1338.25/249, p < .001, goodness-of-fit index = .82, comparative fit index = .90, root mean square error of approximation = .09, and standardized root mean square residual = .06. The participants were found to have excellent nursing humanity competency.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed 3C scale exhibited satisfactory reliability and validity for use with nursing students. The 3C scale may be used to evaluate the performance of nursing students during their learning process, and the results may be used to evaluate changes in educational outcomes.

Organ procurement organization and university-based respiratory care program partnership to develop student internships

Introduction

Health care providers working as organ recovery coordinators (ORC) in the United States have diverse backgrounds and many of the skills needed for the position are obtained during on-the-job training. Some students in health care programs express interest in the organ procurement field but have limited experience and knowledge regarding organ procurement practices. In response to this, a partnership was developed between an undergraduate respiratory care (RC) program and its local organ procurement organization (OPO) to develop and initiate an internship designed to educate students regarding organ procurement.

Approach

The 160-h internship was developed with collaboration between the OPO administration and faculty from the university RC program, which closely followed the OPO’s formalized per diem ORC orientation model. Student reflective journals were qualitatively analyzed to determine the shared experiences during the OPO internships.

Findings

One RC student participated in the internship in 2017 and three RC students participated in 2019. The student interns actively participated in organ donor management in the critical care and surgical settings with the scheduled ORCs. Student progression of emotional competence and leadership were demonstrated throughout the internship.

Discussion

The OPO internship benefited RC students by providing opportunities for professional development that may not be available during their typical clinical rotations and strengthened their critical care skills and emotional competence.

Conclusion

Employment as an ORC is an emerging role for respiratory therapists. Offering educational opportunities such as internships in emerging roles promotes student development and autonomy while promoting the respiratory therapy profession.