Final Semester Of Study Research Articles

Factors influencing nursing professional identity development: A qualitative study.

This research focuses on approaches that best support nursing professional identity formation, particularly by providing the insights of nursing students in their own words. This report reflects qualitative phenomenological research on nursing professional development from the perspective of both associate degree and baccalaureate degree student nurses in their final semester of study and describes factors that support or detract from the experience of nursing professional identity development. Participants were guided through individual interviews using semi-structured interview questions and later invited to facilitated focus groups with other students to clarify and elaborate on previous comments. The approach participants most often described as helping them develop into a professional nurse was clinical experience and the ability to practice independently. It was mentioned far more than the next most common response: role models and mentors. Other methods include reflection, critical thinking, and confidence. This research adds to a limited body of literature on the factors that influence nursing professional identity.

Impact of a gamified simulation on pharmacy students' self-assessed competencies

IntroductionCompetency-based pharmacist education develops robust professional identities and prepares graduates for future practice to ensure optimal patient outcomes. An extended gamified simulation was developed as a capstone activity for a new Australian Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) program. The simulation was designed to consolidate students' knowledge, skills, and behaviors from prior learning. This research aimed to explore whether participation in an extended gamified simulation could influence pharmacy students' perceptions of their professional competencies. MethodsData were collected over three years to compare a superseded Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) program with an incoming BPharm program. Final year students were invited to self-assess their professional competencies at the start and end of their final semester of study, using a digital self-assessment tool which replicated Australia's National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists. Participants rated their own competency against the 26 competency standards across five domains on a five-point Likert scale (not at all competent to very competent). This provided pre- and post-data to compare the simulation (BPharm intervention) and a traditional semester (MPharm comparison), in addition to final course grades. ResultsFrom 2016 to 2019, 85 (90.4%) of 94 intervention and 50 (83.3%) of 60 comparison students completed the self-assessment of professional competencies. Participation in the gamified simulation significantly improved students' pharmacotherapeutics grades and pre-post change scores for seven of the 26 competency standards, two of the five domains, and all domains combined of the National Competency Standards. ConclusionsAn extended, gamified simulation enhances the development of pharmacy students' self-assessed professional competencies.

“IELTS-out/TOEFL-out”: Is the End of General English for Academic Purposes Near? Tertiary Student Achievement Across Standardized Tests and General EAP

It has been widely asserted that general English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in postsecondary education has a limited future, given both the benefits of discipline-specific EAP, and the widespread use by universities of international standardized assessments for proof of English language proficiency (such as IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, etc.). The extra time and expense required for completion of EAP courses is a less appealing admission route than it is to “IELTS-out” (bypassing an EAP program by obtaining a standardized test score that enabling direct admission into a university program). This article investigates capacity of nine widely-used measures of English language proficiency to predict post-secondary student achievement (n = 1918) across multiple academic programs at a Canadian university, over a seven-year admission period. All standardized tests measuring English language proficiency for admission readiness (including IELTS and TOEFL) were insignificant and/or problematically weak predictors of achievement, in both first and final semester of study. In contrast, completion of pre-enrolment EAP programming proved to be a significant predictor of academic achievement, with significant, moderate association. With general EAP the only measure of language proficiency a significant predictor of student achievement, the study’s findings question whether predictions about the demise of such programs are premature.

Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on the development of Entrepreneurial Activities: The Case of Omani Undergraduate Students

Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation has always been the important to the Sultanate of Oman’s future. This research will shed light on the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education on the development of entrepreneurial activities in Oman. Large number of studies have concerned about entrepreneurship education, and entrepreneurial intention, but very few studies focusing on the how and why entrepreneurship education influences and their impact on entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, the objective of our study is to identify the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship intention among undergraduate students in Oman. A survey questionnaire is used as the primary data collection tool by way of an online survey, and a sample from public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Oman. The sample will consist of two groups selected among a population of undergraduate students who are in their final semester of study, and from those who have graduated during the previous two years. As this research is still in progress, we are expecting to collect a sample exceeding two hundred questionnaires. Preliminary testing of the model indicates that the survey instrument of this study is a fair, valid, and reliable method with which to conduct this field data collection. The research findings are expected to contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between the various components of entrepreneurship education and the entrepreneurial intention of those undergraduate students from the target populations. Since increasing attention has been given to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education in Oman, in recent years, it is expected that the findings of this research will reveal the effectiveness of such programs in enhancing the potential of students to enable them to become effective, self-employed, entrepreneurs.

Student perceptions and trust of sustainability information

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report student attitudes and beliefs towards climate change adaptation and sustainability-related behaviours.Design/methodology/approachA paper-based questionnaire was completed by 247 first-year (students in their first semester of study) and third-year (students in their final semester of study) students in the same year (2012) of the study (Table I). A factor analysis shows that common themes previously identified failed to reflect the diverse range of influences on young people, including family, friends and news media.FindingsContrary to the literature, few significant differences were found in sustainability-related behaviours between first- and third-semester students, with an increase in scepticism regarding the reality of climate change among the latter.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on Australian undergraduate university business students. As a single-institution case study, the results may not be generalised to all university students. As such the authors recommended that the study be completed in other universities from around the world. The study was undertaken over one year, but the participants may not have necessarily been the same students in third semester as they were in first semester. Therefore, it is recommended that the study be repeated in future years so that the same cohort can be measured over time, providing a more accurate account of the development of student knowledge and perceptions of sustainability during their time at university.Practical implicationsAchieving significant long-term changes in behaviours will be a substantial challenge for tertiary curricula. The findings of this study can inform instructors in higher education of student attitudes towards sustainability and climate change adaption and in turn inform changes to tertiary curriculum in sustainability and climate change adaption.Originality/valueThis paper reports on the second phase of a longitudinal research project examining the effects of an undergraduate business studies curriculum on student views of sustainability. The authors confirm that the research is original and that all of the data provided in the study are real and authentic. Neither the entire work nor any of its parts have been previously published.

Online Initial Teacher Education Students' Perceptions of Using Web Conferences to Support Professional Conversations

This paper draws on the work of Helen Timperley (2015) who suggests there are six clear enablers that support educators to have professional conversations: processes, resources, culture, knowledge, relationships, as well as context. This purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, it describes how weekly web conferences that were offered for online initial teacher education students (ITES) were designed with due consideration for Timperley’s enablers for professional conversations; and second, it reports on student experiences of the ways in which the web conferences served to support professional conversations. In order to understand the complex and multifaceted ways that web conferences served to facilitate ITES engagement in professional conversations, data is drawn from thirty-two online ITES enrolled in a capstone unit in their final semester of study in a teacher education course. Using a descriptive mixed-methods case study approach, the ITES completed questionnaires, participated in follow-up interviews and completed their assessment tasks to shed insight into the impact of the web conferences. The findings reveal the powerful ways that the web conferences allowed the students to participate in meaningful professional conversations and helped develop the professional attributes expected of graduates. Importantly, the study revealed that ITES perceived that the web conferences prompted a deeper level of engagement, satisfaction and sense of achievement than alternative activities, including face-to-face tutorials.

“There was nowhere to hide…”: the surprising discovery of how weekly web conferences facilitated engagement for online initial teacher education students

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on the ways that weekly webconferences (WC) facilitated engagement for thirty-two ITES enrolled in a capstone unit in their final semester of study in a teacher education course. Using a descriptive mixed-methods case study approach, the initial teacher educationstudents (ITES) completed questionnaires, participated in follow-up interviews and completed their assessment tasks to shed insight into the impact of the WC. The findings reveal the powerful ways that the WC facilitated engagement for ITES in their studies and helped develop the professional attributes expected of graduates. Importantly, the study revealed that the WC enabled a deeper level of engagement, satisfaction and sense of achievement than alternative activities, including face to face tutorials.

Clinical Judgment Scripts as a Strategy to Foster Clinical Judgments.

Clinical judgment encompasses how nurses use their knowledge of the patient to generate, assess, and prioritize patient care alternatives. Previous research has identified debriefing as critical to developing clinical judgment. Best practice for debriefing has yet to be identified. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether a standard debriefing script, based on Tanner's clinical judgment model, could foster clinical judgment. Participants were senior nursing students in their final semester of study. Data were gathered and analyzed from three sources: independent raters observing students in simulation, participating students, and the students' clinical instructors. Students identified the script as an effective debriefing tool, and significant improvements were observed in clinical judgment scores from all data sources. The standardized debriefing script helped students focus on the learning process, resulting in student improvement in all areas of clinical judgment: noticing, interpreting, responding, and reflecting. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(12):691-695.].

Graduating nurses' self-efficacy in palliative care practice: An exploratory study

BackgroundEducational institutions and the health care industry agree that graduates from professional programs need to be “work ready” and capable of delivering competent and confident nursing care. One measure of program success is the student's self-efficacy in meeting expected graduate capabilities. In this study student's self-efficacy is related to palliative care graduate capabilities. AimTo explore graduating Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc) students' self-efficacy in caring for palliative care patients. DesignA qualitative design using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. SettingA regional Australian university. ParticipantsA purposive sample of 10 students in their final semester of study in a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree program. MethodSemi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. Interview questions were informed by published palliative care graduate capabilities. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and coded by capability. The coded data were then analysed to determine evidence of self-efficacy in caring for palliative care patients. ResultsAll participants had experiences in caring for palliative care patients. However, the responses did not consistently reflect high degrees of self-efficacy in four documented palliative care graduate capabilities required to care for persons with a life-limiting illness. ConclusionsThe findings support others that have identified gaps between curriculum and health care industry requirements in terms of students' beliefs about their empowerment to deliver nursing care as graduates. Education interventions and approaches to program evaluation require further development to better support students' growth of self-efficacy in undertaking their graduate roles.

What do early Childhood Teacher Graduands say about working with infants and Toddlers?: An Exploratory Investigation of Perceptions

RECENT INITIATIVES IN THE early childhood education and care sector have increased the demand for early childhood teachers to work in long day care settings. This study explores the perceptions of pre-service teachers who had recently finished their final semester of study and were due to graduate from one Australian higher education institution in the state of Queensland. A cohort of pre-service teachers was invited to complete an online survey investigating their perceptions of working with infants and toddlers. A response rate of 80 per cent, representing 25 respondents, participated in the study. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were employed to analyse the survey data. The findings reveal that overall, pre-service teachers reported they had a partial knowledge of children aged birth to three years after completion of their teacher education program. This was despite 10 days of placement with infants and toddlers, and knowledge and content about infants and toddlers being embedded throughout the teacher education program (birth to eight years). Findings are also relevant to industry and government policy-makers who are advocating for qualified early childhood teachers to work in prior to formal school settings within Australia.

Undergraduate surgical nursing preparation and guided operating room experience: A quantitative analysis

The aim of this research was to determine if guided operating theatre experience in the undergraduate nursing curricula enhanced surgical knowledge and understanding of nursing care provided outside this specialist area in the pre- and post-operative surgical wards.Using quantitative analyses, undergraduate nurses were knowledge tested on areas of pre- and post-operative surgical nursing in their final semester of study. As much learning occurs in nurses' first year of practice, participants were re-tested again after their Graduate Nurse Program/Preceptorship year. Participants' results were compared to the model of operating room education they had participated in to determine if there was a relationship between the type of theatre education they experienced (if any) and their knowledge of surgical ward nursing.Findings revealed undergraduates nurses receiving guided operating theatre experience had a 76% pass rate compared to 56% with non-guided or no experience (p < 0.001). Graduates with guided operating theatre experience as undergraduates or graduate nurses achieved a 100% pass rate compared to 53% with non-guided or no experience (p < 0.001).The research informs us that undergraduate nurses achieve greater learning about surgical ward nursing via guided operating room experience as opposed to surgical ward nursing experience alone.

Nurses' choice of clinical field in early career.

To investigate how undergraduate nursing students' perceived professional qualifications and job values relate to their choice of clinical field after graduation, particularly about employment in care of older people and psychiatric fields. In the light of greater demand for highly qualified nurses, it is important to understand how professional qualifications and job values relate to career choices. A quantitative longitudinal study of 290 undergraduate nursing students based on a questionnaire survey and register data. Data were analysed by multinomial logistic regression analyses. The questionnaire was distributed to all undergraduate nursing students during the final semester of study at two university colleges in Norway (N = 411) to collect the students' perceived professional qualifications and job values (2001). Register data on clinical fields after graduation (2002-2006) were merged into the survey data in 2008 (Statistics Norway). The tendency among undergraduate nursing students to choose care of older people rather than general hospital care after graduation increases as their score on altruism decreases, but is not correlated with their score on theoretical knowledge. The tendency to choose psychiatric fields rather than general hospital care increases with an increasing score on perceived practical skills and decreases with an increasing score on perceived theoretical knowledge. The choice of clinical field after graduation correlates with undergraduate nursing students' perceived professional qualifications and job values.

A comparison of two nursing program exit exams that predict first-time NCLEX-RN outcome.

This retrospective descriptive correlational study compared the predictive accuracy of the Health Education Systems, Inc, Exit Exam (Elsevier) and Assessment Technologies Institute's RN Comprehensive Predictor, both of which were administered to nursing students in an upper-division baccalaureate nursing program during their final semester of study. Using logistic regression analyses, it was determined that the two examinations were statistically significant but weak predictors of success on the RN licensure examination. The RN Comprehensive Predictor had a slightly better odds ratio; however, both examinations had similar sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy. Because the RN Comprehensive Predictor was included in the Assessment Technologies Institute's Comprehensive Assessment and Review Program already being used by the BSN program, based on the results of this study, the nursing faculty decided to use only the RN Comprehensive Predictor during its NCLEX-RN preparation course.

First- and final-semester non-native students in an English-medium university: Judgments of their speech by university peers

By the end of their studies, non-native speakers of English studying at English-medium universities have had several years of exposure to English in that setting. Do non-native students, particularly those enrolled in non-languagerelated programs, show different levels of second language (L2) speaking ability in their final semester of studies than non-native students in their first semester, as judged by other students in the university community? In this exploratory cross-sectional study, two matched groups of L2 English university students in their first or final semester of study in non-language-related programs ( N = 20) were recorded in mock job interviews. The students were rated by two groups of raters for accentedness, comprehensibility, fluency, and communicative effectiveness. Both rater groups were university students; one group was from diverse academic programs, while the other group was studying human resource management (HRM). Although the first- and final-semester L2 English students differed in how long they had studied in English, no significant difference in ratings between first- and final-semester students was found. However, the two rater groups differed in how they rated accentedness and comprehensibility, suggesting that the nature of listeners' previous academic experience (e.g., with HRM) influences their judgments. The use of holistic rating scales to evaluate L2 speech is discussed, as well as the relationship between the nature of language exposure and the performance of the student and rater groups.

Identifying strategies to assist final semester nursing students to develop numeracy skills: A mixed methods study

It remains a grave concern that many nursing students within tertiary institutions continue to experience difficulties with achieving medication calculation competency. In addition, universities have a moral responsibility to prepare proficient clinicians for graduate practice. This requires risk management strategies to reduce adverse medication errors post registration. To identify strategies and potential predictors that may assist nurse academics to tailor their drug calculation teaching and assessment methods. This project builds on previous experience and explores students' perceptions of newly implemented interventions designed to increase confidence and competence in medication calculation. This mixed method study surveyed students (n=405) enrolled in their final semester of study at a large, metropolitan university in Sydney, Australia. Tailored, contextualised interventions included online practice quizzes, simulated medication calculation scenarios developed for clinical practice classes, contextualised 'pen and paper' tests, visually enhanced didactic remediation and 'hands-on' contextualised workshops. Surveys were administered to students to determine their perceptions of interventions and to identify whether these interventions assisted with calculation competence. Test scores were analysed using SPSS v. 20 for correlations between students' perceptions and actual performance. Qualitative open-ended survey questions were analysed manually and thematically. The study reinforced that nursing students preferred a 'hands-on,' contextualised approach to learning that was 'authentic' and aligned with clinical practice. Our interventions assisted with supporting students' learning and improvement of calculation confidence. Qualitative data provided further insight into students' awareness of their calculation errors and preferred learning styles. Some of the strongest predictors for numeracy skill performance included (1) being an international student, (2) completion of an online practice quiz, scoring 59% or above and (3) students' self-reported confidence. A paradigm shift from traditional testing methods to the implementation of intensive, contextualised numeracy teaching and assessment within tertiary institutions will enhance learning and promote best teaching practices.

Study of the Reliability and Validity of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in the Assessment of Clinical Skills of Audiology Students

Introduction:Audiology students should possess clinical competence and skills. To achieve this, their clinical skills must be properly assessed. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a standard and fair examination of clinical competence. The goal of this study is to devise a checklist of OSCE examination criteria and study their validity and reliability for assessing the clinical competence of Audiology students.Methods:Among the various procedures in which audiology students should possess demonstrated competence, 10 specific skills were selected and checklists were prepared. Faculty members of university’s Audiology Department were consulted to determine the validity of the checklists. Subsequently, the examination was administered to all 14 fourth-year audiology students in their final semester of study at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. The examination consisted of three question stations and seven procedure stations. Each station was managed by two examiners who independently used a checklist to score each student’s performance in a given procedure. To determine reliability, the Spearman test was used.Results:The correlation between each examiner’s scores of students at question stations was 0.908. The correlation between each examiner’s scores at procedure stations was 0.857 (p=0). The site of lesion test had the highest correlation (0.948) and immittance audiometry had the lowest correlation (0.585).Conclusion:The prepared checklists had good validity and reliability and can be used to evaluate the clinical competence of audiology students in their final semester of study.

Spirituality-Based Nursing Practice by Nursing Students: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory mixed-method study examines the nature of awareness and application of spirituality in senior nursing students in two separate nursing baccalaureate degree nursing programs. A comprehensive study of the literature yielded 45 statements on personal spirituality and its use in patient care, which were converted to a Likert-type scale questionnaire used as the instrument for this study. A purposive sample consisted of 86 senior-level nursing students in their final semester of study in both schools. Independent t tests, stepwise regression analysis, and factor analysis were used to determine the nature of spiritual-based nursing practice by these students in terms of their awareness, use, and understanding of this metaphysical dimension of health care. Combined mean spirituality score was 128.76; spirituality scores from the two groups were not significantly different, t(64)= 0.668, P = .507. Factor analysis extracted five dimensions of spirituality-based nursing. Results were used to support the development of a practice theory of spirituality-based nursing practice. Findings can be used to advance nursing theory, provide direction for curricular development, and strengthen nursing practice.

Developing a Professional Identity through Problem-Based Learning

There are few reports in the literature on the use of problem-based learning (PBL) in teacher education. This is somewhat surprising given that it is a field of university study that espouses to its students the use of innovative and relevant pedagogies in the school context. Similarly, despite the widespread use of PBL in single courses, the literature in this area is also sparse. This paper provides a description and analysis of a problem-based pedagogy, used in a single course, as a way to better engage teacher education students in their final semester of study. It is concluded that the within-subject PBL structure was successful in motivating students to engage in a series of problems relevant to their professional trajectories. Lave and Wenger's (1991) concepts of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice are used to elaborate how PBL can enhance teacher education students' sense of professional development.