Prelicensure Students Research Articles

Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceptions of Geriatric Care and Nursing Curriculum.

The geriatric population in the United States is growing rapidly with an expected increase of 22% by 2040. Nursing students, however, consistently report negative attitudes toward caring for geriatric patients. The purpose was to assess undergraduate nursing student perceptions of care for the geriatric population, how their nursing curriculum influenced these perceptions, and any perceived curricular changes, didactic or clinical, that could potentially improve students' preparedness and desire to seek a career in geriatric nursing. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach, senior prelicensure nursing students completed a Likert-scale survey with additional open-ended questions to assess perceptions of geriatric care and how the current nursing curriculum relates to those perceptions. Quantitative data identified that most students believed the didactic curriculum prepared them for geriatric care but did not increase their desire to work with geriatric patients. Qualitative data identified negative stereotypes and clinical experiences and revealed a lack of desire for geriatric care. Lack of desire for geriatric care was the norm for participants. Geriatric care should be more heavily weighted in academics, and educators should develop innovative methods that increase the desire of prelicensure students to commit to care for the geriatric population.

Pedagogical and teaching strategies used to teach writing to pre-licensure students enrolled in health professional programs: a scoping review protocol.

The objective of this review is to map the existing literature on pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used to teach academic and professional writing to pre-licensure students who are enrolled in health professional programs. Health professional programs are intended to develop competence in both academic and professional writing. Effective academic writing skills prompt critical reflection and engagement with research communities, while professional writing skills are used to document interventions and communicate across health systems. Despite the importance of these 2 forms of writing, there are ongoing concerns that practitioners are entering practice without adequate writing skills. Given these concerns and the importance of writing across health disciplines, there is value in identifying the pedagogical strategies and approaches used in health professional programs to develop writing skills and to transfer such skills from one communicative context to another. This review will consider research on the pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used to teach academic and professional writing in pre-licensure health professional programs. This review will be conducted in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. The search strategy will aim to locate published literature using MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, CINAHL with Full-Text (EBSCOhost), ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health (ProQuest), and ERIC (EBSCOhost), along with gray literature (using databases/search engines). Papers published from 2010 onward in English and in French will be included. Extracted data will be reported in tabular format and presented narratively to address each review objective. http://osf.io/9raxp.

Adding Diversity to Simulations for Prelicensure Students in a Nursing Program.

Adding Diversity to Simulations for Prelicensure Students in a Nursing Program.

Differences in community health nursing learning outcomes based on simulation modality

BackgroundVarious modalities of community health nursing simulation have been useful in improving confidence, communication, and meeting learning objectives. Research focusing on comparing community health nursing learning outcomes in simulation with standardized patients versus mannequins is limited. This study aimed to explore differences in clinical reasoning, clinical learning, knowledge, communication, self-confidence, and learner satisfaction among community health students participating in standardized patient simulation compared to mannequins. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 66 prelicensure students in community health nursing. Students completed a pre- and post-knowledge quiz, Satisfaction with Simulation Experience scale, and a simulation evaluation survey. ResultsCompared to simulation with mannequins, clinical reasoning, clinical learning, knowledge, communication, realism, and learner satisfaction scores were significantly higher with standardized patient simulation. ConclusionsSimulation with standardized patients can be useful for increasing community health nursing knowledge while enhancing clinical reasoning and realism. Future research including larger samples and more comprehensive community health topics is needed.

Hot Versus Cold Debriefing in a Nursing Context: An Integrative Review.

Hot debriefing occurs shortly after simulations or real-life events, whereas cold debriefings occur after 24 hours. This integrative review examined the effects of hot versus cold debriefing after simulation on prelicensure students. Whittemore and Knafl's five-stage method was followed. Databases searched included PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO. The inclusion criteria were studies published in English that involved prelicensure nursing students and measured the effect of hot or cold debriefing. Themes emerged from 10 studies and included clinical judgment and decision making, knowledge and skills, participant experiences, reflection, and psychological safety and self-efficacy. Hot debriefing was preferred by participants, but cold debriefing resulted in higher knowledge and skills scores. In addition, students in the cold debriefing group were more conformable and in a safe environment compared with the hot debriefing group. Drawing a strong conclusion was difficult due to heterogeneity in study designs and methods. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(10):653-658.].

Harnessing the Untapped Potential of Ambulatory Clinical Placements in Prelicensure Nursing Education.

The purpose of this academic-practice partnership was to expand nursing prelicensure educational opportunities beyond the walls of acute care hospital settings and into communities and ambulatory environments to address clinical placement shortages and support clinical practice recruiting efforts. Leaders from Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing, Weber State University and Intermountain Health collaborated to design and implement a plan for innovative clinical placements across the state through regular work sessions, frequent communication, shared electronic cloud documents, and real-time adaptations and adjustments. The successful implementation of the project resulted in the placement of 296 prelicensure students from 36 clinical groups in various ambulatory and community health environments, which increased total clinical rotation days and decreased reliance on hospital and long-term care facilities. Through innovative planning and implementation, academic-practice partnerships can address clinical placement site shortages and harness the untapped potential of underutilized clinical placement opportunities outside acute care hospital settings. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

The Interprofessional Standardized Patient Experience: An Effective Interprofessional Education Activity for Prelicensure Health Professional Students.

For future success in the modern health care environment, health professions students require effective interprofessional education experiences to develop their perceptions of other professionals on the health care team. The Interprofessional Standardized Patient Experience (ISPE) is an interprofessional education activity for prelicensure health professional students in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, medicine, social work, and occupational therapy. The ISPE involved collaboration among students to conduct a subjective interview. Students from six health care professions individually interviewed a simulated patient while being observed by students from other professions. A structured faculty-guided debriefing session followed the comprehensive interview process. Students completed a voluntary pre- and post-ISPE survey with interprofessional questions and feedback on the activity. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze individual responses. Differences in student opinions by student profession and by the number of professions present were examined using chi-square tests. Over 4 consecutive academic years, 1,265 students completed the ISPE, and 1,028 completed the pre- and post-ISPE surveys. Analysis of the survey responses indicated that the ISPE enhanced student awareness of the functions of an interprofessional team and increased student knowledge of the roles of different health care professions. Students rated the ISPE as a valuable experience. Differences were noted in some of the measures by profession and group size. A single ISPE had a significant impact on prelicensure students' perceptions. The ISPE is a novel and effective approach to interprofessional education that students appreciate.

Healthcare misinformation: Recognition and response in pre-licensure nursing education

Background and objective: The amount of medical misinformation accessible to the public presents challenges for the healthcare community. Nursing graduates require knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enter practice prepared to recognize and respond to misinformation. The aim of the study was to assess the student nurse’s ability to recognize and respond to misinformation in the media.Methods: A total of 14 prelicensure students were recruited for a qualitative study involving watching/listening to birth-related media containing misinformation. Ability to recognize and respond to misinformation was evaluated using reflective journals guided by Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model.Results: Evidence of components of clinical judgment were noted: noticing in 14/14; interpreting in 11/14; and responding in 8/14 journals. Further analysis yielded themes: media/social media misinformation can impact care that people seek; students recognize nursing responsibility to respond to misinformation; while most are able to recognize misinformation, many do not know how to respond.Conclusions: Students recognized misinformation, but the degree to which they were prepared to respond to it is unclear. Further study is needed to determine the ability of prelicensure students to respond to misinformation and to determine if programs should evaluate for incorporation of misinformation into curricula.

Exploring experiential learning within interprofessional practice education initiatives for pre-licensure healthcare students: a scoping review

BackgroundInterprofessional collaborative team-based approaches to care in health service delivery has been identified as important to health care reform around the world. Many academic institutions have integrated interprofessional education (IPE) into curricula for pre-licensure students in healthcare disciplines, but few provide formal initiatives for interprofessional practice (IPP). It is recognized that experiential learning (EL) can play a significant role supporting IPP education initiatives; however, little is known of how EL is used within education for IPP in healthcare settings.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review to map peer-reviewed literature describing IPP education initiatives involving EL for pre-licensure students in healthcare disciplines. A literature search was executed in MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Social Services s. After deduplication, two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts of 5664 records and then 252 full-text articles that yielded 100 articles for data extraction. Data was extracted using an Excel template, and results synthesized for presentation in narrative and tabular formats.ResultsThe 100 included articles represented 12 countries and IPP education initiatives were described in three main typologies of literature – primary research, program descriptions, and program evaluations. Forty-three articles used a theory, framework, or model for design of their initiatives with only eight specific to EL. A variety of teaching and learning strategies were employed, such as small interprofessional groups of students, team huddles, direct provision of care, and reflective activities, but few initiatives utilized a full EL cycle. A range of perspectives and outcomes were evaluated such as student learning outcomes, including competencies associated with IPP, impacts and perceptions of the IPP initiatives, and others such as client satisfaction.ConclusionFew educational frameworks specific to EL have been used to inform EL teaching and learning strategies to consolidate IPE learning and prepare students for IPP in healthcare settings. Further development and evaluation of existing EL frameworks and models would be beneficial in supporting robust IPP educational initiatives for students in healthcare disciplines. Intentional, thoughtful, and comprehensive use of EL informed by theory can contribute important advances in IPP educational approaches and the preparation of a future health care workforce.

Integrating Experiential Informatics and Quality Improvement in Baccalaureate Education.

Current education for prelicensure students addresses informatics, typically focusing on theory, terminology, and an overview of systems. This leaves health partners with the burden of teaching "bedside" informatics skills. Utilizing an innovative new model, a course was developed to bridge the gap between theory and practical application. Students join mock clinical practice councils and perform chart audits to understand the important role of informatics in quality improvement. By using practical bedside informatics tools and applications, students learn to improve patient outcomes and safe care environments in alignment with current expectations.

Collaborative Virtual Observed Structured Clinical Exams With Advanced Pratice Registered Nurse and Registered Nurse Students

Simulation-based education activities allow nursing students to develop and demonstrate clinical competencies. An innovative simulation model was created and deployed to provide immersive collaborative clinical practice for advanced practice and prelicensure students in telehealth with an interprofessional team of nursing educators and simulation specialists over 2 years. Feedback from all participant groups was used to evaluate and improve each activity. The advanced practice and prelicensure students demonstrated achievement of planned learning outcomes and contributed to ongoing improvements in the design and delivery of the collaborative simulations.

Just Culture: Nursing Students Transition to Practice-a Longitudinal Study.

Although just culture is reportedly integrated across education and practice, little is known about how perceptions may change across time as students transition from prelicensure education to registered nurse in the practice setting. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare just culture perceptions of registered nurses at 2 time points: (1) as prelicensure students and (2) as new graduate nurses with a minimum of 6 months of experience. Utilizing the Just Culture Assessment Tool for Nursing Education (JCAT-NE) and the Just Culture Assessment Tool (JCAT), this within-subject, longitudinal study measured just culture perceptions across time. Although there was no statistically significant change in total scores across time, 8 individual items demonstrated statistically significant change. Students use the knowledge, skills, and attitudes about just culture taught in prelicensure education as new graduate nurses. However, findings reveal areas where the practice environment has altered perceptions of just culture.

An Innovative Community Health Nursing Virtual Reality Experience: A Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) simulation in nursing education, especially about non-acute care including community health, is an emerging learning strategy; more research is needed about its effectiveness. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative community health nursing VR simulation on prelicensure students' knowledge about social determinants of health and cultural competence, with a goal of enhancing students' preparation for practice. Methods: In a convergent mixed methods study, 100 prelicensure nursing students in a community health nursing course at a Midwestern U.S., urban, public university completed a pretest, a VR simulation, a posttest, and an evaluation. Pre- and posttests containing content questions adapted from leading community health nursing text faculty resources were used to assess learning, and the Simulation Effectiveness Tool-Modified (SET-M) was used to assess perceived effectiveness of the intervention. Results: The majority of participants' posttest scores were higher than their pretest scores. Most participants strongly agreed that the VR simulation was effective, and reported on new knowledge/skills learned, material found most helpful, and benefit to their nursing practice. Conclusions: The community health nursing VR simulation was effective at increasing participants' knowledge and their confidence in their knowledge and abilities.

Care Coordination and Transition Management: A New Course to Prepare Prelicensure Students.

There is a need for RNs to be skilled at coordinating care and improving transitions within and across a wide variety of clinical settings and in diverse populations. A care coordination and transition management (CCTM) course was developed to address this growing need. The course was designed to promote enhanced clinical reasoning as well as synthesis and application of CCTM concepts while focusing on the patient and family perspectives. Learning activities incorporated individual writing assignments, discussion board assignments, and a group project. Students demonstrated the application of CCTM concepts in individual and group assignments and used prior and current clinical experiences to connect theory to practice. This course helped preli-censure students learn and apply CCTM concepts. Learning activities within the CCTM course could be adapted to be effective in all forms of undergraduate programs as well as graduate nursing programs. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(8):471-474.].

Specializing Within a Prelicensure Nursing Program: An Innovative Clinical Design.

Traditionally, prelicensure nursing programs aim to give students exposure to several different populations in preparation for becoming a registered nurse. Those who begin a career in a specialty such as pediatrics have often had little exposure and experience with the aptitudes and knowledge needed to be workforce ready. An innovative clinical cohort program was designed to prepare students better to graduate with a strong specialty foundation already established. Following the American Association of Colleges of Nursing recommendation to seek academic-practice partnerships, this cohort model was established between a university and freestanding children's hospital. Students enrolled in this program complete all required didactic and simulation coursework in the traditional curriculum. In addition, they participate in frequent clinical experiences at the children's hospital throughout the entire program. Students graduating from this program have received adequate preparation to graduate, pass NCLEX, and are competent in all necessary general nursing principles. At the same time, they are well versed in pediatric nursing and comfortable caring for this specialty population. Prelicensure students can specialize in pediatrics while meeting all general requirements of a traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. This novel clinical cohort design could serve as a model to change standard programming and better meet the needs of our practice partners. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(8):475-478.].

Creating a Learning Plan for Prelicensure Students in Primary Care Clinical Experiences.

Registered nurses (RNs) working to the full scope of licensed practice can expand the capacity of the health care system and influence patient care quality. However, preparation of prelicensure nursing students to practice in primary care is particularly challenging due to curricular and practice site barriers. As part of a federally funded project to expand the primary care RN workforce, learning activities to teach key concepts of primary care nursing were designed and implemented. Students studied the concepts while placed in a primary care clinical setting and debriefed in a topical, instructor-facilitated, seminar. Current and best practices in primary care were explored, compared, and contrasted. Pre- and postsurveys revealed significant student learning related to selected primary care nursing concepts. Overall knowledge, skills, and attitudes increased significantly pre- to post-term. Concept-based learning activities can effectively support specialty nursing education in primary and ambulatory care settings.

Online prelicensure nursing students' experiences of academic incivility during COVID-19: A qualitative inquiry.

The aim of this study was to describe online prelicensure nursing students' experiences of incivility during COVID-19. Qualitative descriptive. Five optional open-ended questions were presented to nursing students to share their experiences with incivility during the pandemic. Data were collected from September to October 2020 as a part of a larger multimethod study on stress, resilience and incivility with nursing students and faculty (n = 710) from a large public undergraduate nursing programme in the southwestern United States. Out of the initial 675 students who completed the survey, 260 individuals responded to three or more of the open-ended questions which were reviewed and coded using reflexive thematic analysis. Thirteen themes were organized into four analytical categories: (1) experiencing incivility, (2) causes and consequences of incivility, (3) the pandemic and academic incivility and (4) promoting civility in the academic setting. Prelicensure nursing students perceived unrealistic expectations, a lack of awareness and miscommunication hindered academic performance, as well as, created feelings of stress, discouragement and inadequacy. Fostering academic civility during virtual educational experiences may require training in proper coping strategies when challenged with incivility. As the body of research emerges concerning the effects of COVID-19 and undergraduate nursing education, understanding prelicensure students' experiences of academic incivility could prove to be beneficial to designing strategies co-created with students to promote positive educational outcomes. Understanding students' viewpoints of uncivil experiences revealed prioritizing civility awareness is essential in creating healthy academic environments, improving clinical performance and providing safe patient care. The COREQ (COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research) checklist was used. No patient or public contribution.

Implications of Neuman's developmental variable for prelicensure nursing students

The Neuman Systems Model (NSM) has guided care for diverse client systems in various settings for 50 years. According to the NSM, nursing care begins with wholistic assessment of the client system's five variables including the developmental variable. This paper examines the dynamic developmental variable of prelicensure associate degree nursing students as a group, and then suggests prevention-as-intervention strategies that match their developmental characteristics as the group progresses through their nursing education to registered nurse licensure. By utilizing appropriate prevention-as-intervention strategies based on the developmental characteristics of prelicensure students as a group, faculty optimize student learning in the nursing courses and facilitate matriculation of practice-ready nursing graduates. This progression of Neuman's developmental variable and transition of prevention-as-intervention strategies for success should be of interest not only to associate degree nursing students and faculty, but also to clinical staff interacting with a variety of prelicensure nursing students.

An unfolding OB case study: Connecting classroom and simulation

Obtaining clinical sites for specialty areas such as obstetrics can be challenging. Multiple factors can influence the availability of these sites and the experience nursing students receive. The lack of a clinical experience in obstetrics prevents students the opportunity to apply challenging didactic content. In order to provide a meaningful obstetrical clinical experience, the unfolding case study from the classroom was replicated in simulation. Student responses from post-simulation surveys had more than 97% of students (n = 33) who agreed or strongly agreed they felt more confident in nursing assessment skills after participating in the simulation. Utilizing an unfolding case study from classroom to simulation can be an effective way to augment specialized clinical experiences for prelicensure students. Described here is an overview of the interactive class activities, simulation scenarios, student feedback, and changes made prior to the second year.

Team Teaching in Nursing Education: Lessons Learned During COVID-19.

Team teaching involves multiple faculty teaching a single course and can follow different formats that can result in an enhanced experience for students and faculty. Team teaching was adopted for prelicensure students during the COVID-19 pandemic to maximize faculty time and expertise, eliminate duplicate work, and build in redundancy should faculty become ill. Using a tag-rotation model design, faculty were assigned content and activities, as well as assessments for the content. All work was housed on the learning university's platform. Novice faculty were mentored, duplication was eliminated, and efficiency was actualized through team teaching. Most faculty found the benefits to be advantageous and continued to use the model by choice. Team teaching promotes a culture of debate and critical thinking as well as interprofessional learning. Faculty relationships and planning for both students and faculty are essential elements for team teaching success. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(4):249-252.].