Baccalaureate Degree Students Research Articles

Extern Programs Promote Confidence and Reduce Anxiety With Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Students.

Clinical decision making (CDM), expected of professional nurses, affects patient outcomes but is arduous for nursing students to learn. Psychological barriers (low self-confidence [SC] and high anxiety with CDM) have an impact on its achievement. Externship programs help mitigate these barriers. The aim was to examine the impact of summer employment (nurse extern [NE], nursing assistant, and non-health care employed) on students' confidence and anxiety with CDM. The study used a quasi-experimental before-and-after design using the Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision Making scale. Associate and baccalaureate degree students (N = 134) from 2 nursing and 2 extern programs were included. The NEs reported significantly increased SC (F = 14.02, P < .001) and reduced anxiety (F = 8.64, P < .001). Nonsignificant improvements were noted in other groups. Externships appear to enhance students' SC and lessen their anxiety with CDM.

Evaluating Maternal and Child Health and Leadership Competencies of Emerging MCH Leaders: The MCHC/RISE-UP Experience.

This study examines maternal and child health core competencies and leadership characteristics of undergraduate students following participation in the Maternal and Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement-Undergraduate Program (MCHC/RISE-UP). MCHC/RISE-UP is a 10-week public health leadership program designed to promote diversity in public health workforce through mentored research, community engagement and advocacy, and clinical experiences for undergraduate students. The MCHC/RISE-UP is a national consortium of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities including, (1) Kennedy Krieger Institute (Kennedy Krieger, lead institution) partnering with Morgan State University, a Historically Black University, (2) the University of South Dakota partnering with Tribal Serving Institutions; and (3) the University of Southern California Children's Hospital-Los Angeles and their partner institution, California State University Los Angeles, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Eighty-four junior and senior undergraduates and recent baccalaureate degree students who participated in the MCHC/RISE-UP worked on 48 maternal and child health projects. Following the MCHC/RISE-UP, students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all maternal and child health core competencies. Transformational leadership characteristics also increased (mean increase 9.4, 95% CI 7.2-11.8; p < 0.001). At closing interview, over twice as many students endorsed a public health career goal compared to program admission (17.9 vs. 57.7%; p = 0.022). Multi-institutional collaborative public health leadership programs may extend the reach and recruitment of diverse students into the maternal and child health field. Experiential, didactic, and mentored learning opportunities may enhance student integration of maternal and child health competencies and transformational leadership characteristics.

RISE

Public health education and research training of underrepresented populations is an important component of a comprehensive approach to promote health equity. To describe student outcomes following participation in an innovative public health training cooperative agreement program funded by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Sixty-six graduate, professional, and recent baccalaureate degree students participated in the Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement program. The majority of the students were from underrepresented populations (95%) and female (80%). The Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement program, a collaboration between a university-affiliated Institute and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, provided public health educational and research experiences during the summer and academic year. Student presentations at national meetings, publications, and completion of degree programs. The acceptance rate for student presentations at national scientific meetings was 89%. Almost 14 percent of the students were authors of peer-reviewed articles. More than one-third of the students (36%) completed their master's degree and 33% completed doctoral degrees during the 5 years of the program. Students used their Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement program research to complete master's theses, practicum requirements, and dissertations. Ninety-five percent of the students pursued education or careers in public health and health care.

他分野の学士号を持つ看護学生が看護基礎教育機関を選択する際の影響要素

他分野の学士号を持つ看護学生が看護基礎教育機関を選択する際の影響要素

Measuring moral judgement in physical therapy students from different cultures: a dilemma

AbstractThe purpose of this cross‐cultural study was to compare the level of moral judgement between two groups of students over the period of their professional physical therapy educational programmes as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT). Students from two entry‐level physical therapy programmes volunteered to participate. The DIT was completed at entry and exit of their respective programmes. DIT mean scores were compared using ancova controlling for age and grade point average. Thirty‐eight female, second baccalaureate degree students of diverse religious backgrounds, living in a Western culture and 13 female, first baccalaureate degree students of Islamic religious backgrounds living in an Arabic culture participated. At both entry and exit of their programmes, students from the Western group scored significantly higher on the DIT than the Arabic group (average: 51.1 and 29.9 respectively, P &lt; 0.001). An initial score difference was anticipated given the different levels of education between the groups. Over the period of their studies, the DIT scores of the Western group increased significantly while the scores of the Arabic group remained constant. The DIT appears to not measure moral judgement uniformly across cultures. The moral dilemmas are based in Western values and offer limited insight into Arabic, Muslim moral judgement. With increasingly diverse student populations, physical therapy programmes may need to re‐examine the nature of moral judgement and adapt their curricula.

PREDICTING PERSISTENCE OF URBAN COMMUTER CAMPUS STUDENTS UTILIZING STUDENT BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS FROM ENROLLMENT DATA

Successful retention strategies require early identification of at‐risk students. Useful data contained in student enrollment records are often underutilized as a tool in dropout intervention. This article summarizes the results of a longitudinal retention study where variables in the student database were used to predict dropout. The purpose of the study, which was conducted at a four‐year, urban commuter institution, was to determine if differences in student background characteristics could distinguish persistence rate differences between associate and baccalaureate degree students. The results of this research showed that students enrolled in two‐year degrees had better persistence rates than bachelor's degree students. Two particular variables, first semester hours and first semester grade point average, were significant in their ability to predict dropout. A review of the literature indicated that student background characteristics may be the most reliable variables in studying dropout at urban commuter institutions where the student population is primarily nontraditional. Several recommendations that relate specifically to the research findings are put forward for the community college retention practitioner.

The Relationship Between Clinical Decision-Making Skills in Nursing and General Critical Thinking Abilities of Senior Nursing Students in Four Types of Nursing Programs

This descriptive study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between clinical decision-making skills in nursing and critical thinking abilities of senior nursing students in four types of nursing education programs: generic baccalaureate, associate, and diploma--the basic RN programs, along with the upper division baccalaureate (specifically RN completion) program. Fifty senior students from each type of program were conveniently selected. Clinical decision-making in nursing was measured by the Nursing Performance Simulation Instrument. General critical thinking abilities were determined by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Among the basic RN programs, the higher level of general critical thinking ability was attained by generic baccalaureate seniors (mean score, 61.3) compared with the associate (50.0) and diploma (51.3) seniors. The clinical decision-making scores in nursing skills were virtually identical for the three basic programs--generic (32.2), associate (32.2), and diploma (32.3). That is, mean performance scores of the 2-year associate degree, 3-year diploma, and 4-year generic baccalaureate degree students on the Nursing Performance Simulation Instrument showed no statistically significant difference. The mean critical thinking score for the upper division baccalaureate seniors (61.1) was comparable to that of the generic baccalaureate seniors. Clinical decision-making mean score for the upper division seniors was significantly higher (38.0) than those of the other three groups. A weak though significant positive correlation (r = 0.249) between clinical decision-making and critical thinking across all four types of programs was found.

Baccalaureate and Associate Degree Student Nurses' Cultural Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Black American Clients

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cultural diversity education in nursing on baccalaureate and associate degree students' cultural knowledge of and attitudes toward black American clients. Cultural diversity education in nursing information processing, and attitude concepts (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) provided the conceptual framework. The sample consisted of 110 baccalaureate and associate degree senior and freshmen students from National League for Nursing accredited schools of nursing. Each school's dean confirmed that cultural diversity educational experiences were included in the curricula. The findings indicated that the group of associate degree students, which included a large number of various ethnic students, had higher cultural knowledge of black American clients then the baccalaureate degree students, who had less ethnic variance. However, adjustment for the ethnic variable was not significant (F(1,1) = 12.5, p less than .001). There were no differences in the attitudes toward black American clients between the two groups of students. The score ratings for cultural knowledge of (m = 66.90 on a scale of 0 to 100), and attitude toward (m = 35.40 on a scale of 7 to 56 points) black American clients were low in each group of students. Implications are for increased and improved cultural content in nursing education and alternative methods of teaching black American cultural content.

Agronomic competencies: A comparison of their use and perceived importance

Agronomic competencies: A comparison of their use and perceived importance

Preaffiliation and postaffiliation concerns expressed by physical therapy students.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify clinical education concerns expressed by physical therapy students at a midwestern university. Twenty senior-level baccalaureate degree students participated in open-ended taped interviews conducted after the first five-week affiliation and before and after the next three five-week affiliations that were integrated into their programs of study. The most frequently expressed concerns regarded clinical techniques and interpersonal relationships. Concerns about clinical techniques were expressed most frequently before an affiliation. Concerns about personal interactions were expressed most frequently after an affiliation. Many of those students who expressed concerns about interpersonal relationships expressed the same concerns after consecutive affiliations. A difference existed between concerns expressed after an acute care affiliation and concerns expressed after a rehabilitation affiliation. Through the identification of student-expressed preaffiliation and postaffiliation concerns, student-educator interactions may be improved.

Effects of a concurrent clinical education assignment on student concerns.

Students participating in a concurrent pattern of clinical education spend part of the day or week in didactic instruction and the remaining portion in clinical education. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify concerns expressed by students before and after an early concurrent assignment and before a nonconcurrent assignment. Twenty junior level baccalaureate degree students participated in open-ended taped interviews before and after a concurrent assignment that occurred during the first six months of their professional program. The most frequently expressed concerns were about interpersonal interactions, the students' knowledge, and treatment procedures. The students expressed more concerns before the concurrent assignment than after the concurrent assignment and before a nonconcurrent assignment. We conclude that the concurrent assignment builds students' confidence in their affective and psychomotor skills.

Creative Thinking Abilities of Student Nurses

Creative thinking abilities of nursing students ( N = 335) enrolled in their last year of study in 16 associate degree, diploma, or baccalaureate degree nursing programs were compared. Scores on creativity measures were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and, when significant F ratios were obtained, post hoc multiple comparisons were made using the Scheffé technique. Diploma nursing students scored significantly higher on Verbal Fluency than the other groups. Diploma nursing students earned significantly higher scores on Figural Fluency and on Figural Flexibility than baccalaureate degree students, while baccalaureate degree students scored significantly higher on Verbal Originality than the others. Significant differences appeared among groups on Figural Elaboration; associate degree students scored highest and diploma students lowest. No significant differences were found for Verbal Flexibility and Figural Originality.