Continuing education for consensus on entry skills.

Abstract

~ f ~ O N T I N U I N G ,EDUCATION fo r C o n s e n s u s o n l~.~Entry Skills,' a federally-funded three-year project, was sponsored by the Midwest Alliance in Nursing and housed at St. Louis University School of Nursing. The original idea for the project came from the members of the Midwest Alliance in Nursing (MAIN). During two of MAIN's conferences in the early 1980s, the members were asked to vote the most pressing issue between nursing service and educational settings throughout the midwest. Increasing the consensus between nursing service and nursing education entry-level competencies of the new baccalaureate graduate received the highest rating and thus became the goal of this project. The split between nursing service and nursing education regarding performance expectations for the new graduate has a longstanding history. The applied and technical aspects of the nursing role have been believed to be less valued by educators, whereas nursing service personnel have appeared to value and emphasize these aspects of the nursing role. l In the educational system, use of judgment, autonomy, and cognitive skills are stressed. However, in the service setting organization, efficiency, cooperation, and responsibility are more highly valued.-' The major problem that emerges from this value discrepency is that, in many instances, the new graduate needs extensive on the job experiences to function at an acceptable level. This additional training can be quite costly for the employer. Educators, however, do not believe the problem