Systematic review of program evaluation in baccalaureate nursing programs

Program evaluation is a common practice in nursing education programs; however, evidence indicates that many schools only focus on program evaluation around the scheduled accreditation period, thus reducing the potential value of the evaluation. This systematic review explores the current program evaluation practices of prelicensure baccalaureate nursing programs. ERIC, CINAHL, and Scopus databases were searched to locate original research articles published in English. Twenty articles met the inclusion criteria. The purposes of the evaluated studies varied from needing to meet external accountability requirements to proposing conceptual frameworks and evaluation tools. However, most studies focused on summative evaluation assessing program products and on providing evidence of program evaluation based on descriptive data. Notably, few studies employed a rigorous method to evaluate and interpret program evaluation findings. Most studies solicited information from multiple stakeholder groups, with students being the most represented. Despite the wide range of data collection tools used in the reviewed studies, reporting of validity and reliability was limited. Student grade point average, graduation rate, NCLEX passing rate, and satisfaction with the learning experience were the most common variables. Further studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of current educational program evaluation practices in nursing education.

Student perceptions, experiences and support within their current Bachelor of Nursing

BACKGROUND

This study was developed to assist academics and curriculum designers to understand the perspectives and expectations of students when designing a program of study and inclusive of students as partners. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing (BN).

SETTINGS, PARTICIPANTS, METHODS

The setting is a multi-campus university in Australia. Participants were currently enrolled and recruited from the Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of Nursing Advanced and Bachelor of Nursing Graduate Entry. Semi-structured focus group interviews and thematic analysis was used to collect and analyse the data.

RESULTS

Three major themes were identified from the focus group interviews: 1. Expectations; 2. Interesting and stimulating; and 3. Preparedness for study and clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

Students held strong personal reasons for pursuing a nursing degree. The geographic location and international rankings were factors for choosing the university in this study. Student's perceptions and experiences of the curriculum and support identified that their BN program was interesting and adequately prepared them for clinical practice. Some areas for improvement were more detail during program orientation related to clinical practice requirements and more assistance with engaging with learning and teaching technologies.

PhD Education Outcomes: Results of a National Survey of Nursing PhD Alumni

AIM

A national survey was conducted to examine the relationship between individual students' experiences and nursing PhD program characteristics and program outcomes.

BACKGROUND

In light of the shortage of doctorally prepared nurse scientists and a growth in nursing PhD programs, an examination of the PhD nursing education experience in relation to educational outcomes is timely.

METHOD

Data were collected from graduates of a 50 percent random sample of nursing PhD programs in the United States.

RESULTS

Graduates who had worked as research assistants, attended classroom-based programs, and worked as a nurse no more than 12 hours per week during their PhD education were more likely to have successful publication records and receive external research grant funding than graduates who did not have these experiences.

CONCLUSION

On the basis of traditionally accepted measures of research productivity, our results indicate that nursing PhD programs have limited success in producing nurse researchers.

Nursing students' motivation regulation and its relationship with engagement and burnout

Motivation regulation, study engagement, and students' wellbeing are critical components of skillful self-regulated learning. However, few studies have focused on these factors and their relationship in nursing education and as there is an increased usage of blended learning in nursing education, measuring students' learning in this setting is increasingly important. This person-oriented, quantitative study explored first-year nursing students' ( N = 90) motivation regulation related to study engagement and study burnout in blended and traditional learning environments in two undergraduate nursing programs. Regardless of the learning environment, the majority of the nursing students (65.6%) had a highly developed motivation regulation profile. They performed highly on motivation regulation, showed strong engagement, and exibhited reduced exposure for study burnout compared to those with less-developed motivation regulation profiles. It is suggested that motivation regulation, study engagement, and experienced burnout influence nursing students' learning. These components should be emphasized in developing nursing education and facilitating nursing students' learning.

Faculty Perceptions of Online Teaching Effectiveness and Indicators of Quality

Online education programs in nursing are increasing rapidly. Faculty need to be competent in their role and possess the skills necessary to positively impact student outcomes. Existing research offers effective teaching strategies for online education; however, there may be some disconnect in the application of these strategies and faculty perceptions of associated outcomes. Focus groups were formed to uncover how nursing faculty in an online program define and describe teaching effectiveness and quality indicators in an asynchronous online environment. A semistructured interview format guided group discussion. Participants (n = 11) included nurse educators from an online university with an average of 15 years of experience teaching in nursing academia and 6 years in an online environment. Teaching effectiveness, indicators of quality, and student success were three categories that emerged from the analysis of data. What materialized from the analysis was an overarching concept of a “dance” that occurs in the online environment. Effective online teachers facilitate, connect, lead, and work in synchrony with students to obtain indicators of quality such as student success, student improvement over time, and student application of knowledge to the professional role.

Educação de pós-graduação em enfermagem à distância: avaliação sob a perspectiva dos discentes

Objetivo Avaliar os cursos de Especialização em Gestão em Enfermagem Modalidade a Distância sob a perspectiva dos discentes. Métodos Estudo exploratório-descritivo, com abordagem quantitativa realizado com 484 alunos concluintes. Para a avaliação foi utilizado instrumento dividido nas categorias: local de acesso, horas de dedicação, professores; tutores, expectativas dos alunos e avaliação geral. A associação entre as variáveis numéricas foi realizada por meio do teste Qui-quadrado de Pearson, e a confiabilidade da medição por meio do coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach. Resultados Os principais resultados demonstraram que os discentes se sentiram acolhidos pelos tutores e professores, e que os dois cursos contribuíram para melhorar o desempenho profissional e o desenvolvimento de competências relacionadas à gestão. Conclusão Os cursos foram avaliados positivamente e mostraram-se úteis como ferramenta de capacitação de Enfermeiros visando fomentar a transformação do cenário gerencial da Enfermagem brasileira.

Practical strategies for nursing education program evaluation

Self-evaluation is required for institutions of higher learning and the nursing programs within them. The literature provides information on evaluation models and instruments, and descriptions of how specific nursing education programs are evaluated. However, there are few discussions in the nursing education literature of the practical aspects of nursing education program evaluation: how to get started, how to keep track of data, who to involve in data collection, and how to manage challenging criteria. This article discusses the importance of program evaluation in the academic setting and provides information on practical ways to organize the evaluation process and aggregate data, and strategies for gathering data from students, graduates, alumni, and employers of graduates.