Outcomes of Master's Education in Nursing

Abstract

This qualitative, descriptive study examined changes in perspective experienced by 22 recent graduates of Master's in Nursing programs from three Ontario universities. Participants responded to semi-structured, taped interviews and recounted personal, practice, and attitudinal changes they could attribute to completing a Master's program in Nursing. Among outcomes were personal ones including greater self-confidence, credibility, and acuity of critical thinking. Deeper and broader world-views of the profession and health care were evident. All participants valued evidence-based practice, reporting greater use of multiple information sources. Participants communicated with other professionals on more equal terms and some described a multicultural function, translating knowledge between staff nurses and members of other disciplines. Pride in nursing and its potential for shaping health care was a recurring theme. More professional opportunities became available following Master's studies. The outcomes of this study contribute to understanding the effects of graduate education in nursing.

The Power of Synergy: An Academic/Clinical Partnership for Transformational Change

“…However, the survey findings of a lack of confidence in communicating with medical staff and also lack of respect that they experienced in the workplace are contrary to the focus group findings and to the findings of other researchers who have found instead that collaboration and communication may be improved through postgraduate education [19,27,28,[42][43][44][45]. This finding is of real concern not only because patients of health professionals that work well together suffer lower mortality rates [46] but that the positive impact of such a culture on teamwork and healthcare effectiveness [10] may have been underrealised in the study setting.…”

“…Further, postgraduate study is expected to enhance the implementation of evidence into practice [18,19] and to increase nurses' confidence in their ability [20][21][22][23][24]. On the other hand from an intrinsic, critical perspective, nurses who have completed postgraduate education have also been found to be more likely to be critical thinkers [25] and advocates for patients by questioning treatment decisions and options [25][26][27], and to be supported to develop personally and professionally [17,28,29].…”

A systematic review of outcome and impact of Master’s in health and health care

“…Only three articles used a mixed methods approach. Cragg and Andrusyszyn [37] mention ‘four focus groups with a total of nine participants’, which does not meet the quality criteria for focus group discussions [38]. The study designs were generally of low quality [36], ie comprising of case series and depending mostly on self-reporting, with little triangulation.…”

“…In a number of studies, graduates reported improvement in the clinical care they provided [22,42-46] and in their attitude towards patients [43,47]. Alumni also reported enhanced self-confidence [22,23,29,37,43,48,49]. …”

Exploring registered nurses’ attitudes to postgraduate education for specialty practice in Australia

“…Ultimately, they did not value advancing their education because they do not see the relevance to the changes in health care nor the contributions they could make by having a postgraduate qualification. If one accepts the evidence that having a more highly educated nursing workforce makes a difference to patient outcomes (L. H. Aiken et al, 2012;Armstrong & Adam, 2002;Bahn, 2007b;Chaboyer et al, 2001;Cooley, 2008;Cragg & Andrusyszyn, 2004;Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2013), then getting these NPGE nurses to advance their educational level will be paramount. To meet the growing complexities within health care in Australia, a substantial investment will be required from the government (policymakers), healthcare organisations (employers) and healthcare educators (universities) as well as from the registered nurses.…”