Perceptions of clinical competence among nurse pregraduates: Do different types of nursing programs make a difference?

Abstract

Background: New graduate nurses' competence rarely meets the rigorous expectations of clinical settings. Researchers suggest that competency validation before graduation can shorten the length of clinical orientations for graduate nurses after they enter the workforce. The purpose of this study was to explore the difference in clinical competence between students in different types of nursing programs and to identify skills that need to be reinforced. Methods:This longitudinal study included 461 students from three different nursing programs: a four-year regular nursing program and a two-year RN-BSN program in day school and night school. A total of 478 students were invited to participate, and 440 students completed and returned questionnaires either at one year before or at the time of graduation with a total response rate of 92.05%. Results:At the time of graduation, students in all three nursing programs perceived low competence in overall clinical skills. Students in a two-year RN-BSN night school perceived significantly lower competence than students in two other types of nursing programs. Nurse students' general performance skills and advanced nursing skills need to be reinforced before graduation. Conclusions:More opportunities for students' involvement in case-based studies to cultivate their ability to integrate their knowledge and skills and more accumulated hours in deliberate practice with external sources such as electronic resources, training facilities and skill consultation on performance are recommended to enhance students' clinical competence.

Perceived benefits and barriers of implementing nursing residency programs in Jordan

“…This professional role transition is described as a process of adjustment that is affected by the personal and professional knowledge and experiences of the new nurses (Duchscher 2009). The research evidence also supports the notion that the reality shock during the role transition of novice nurses, and the difficulties that face them in their professional socialization are associated with increased rate of turnover (KOH 2013;Letourneau & Fater 2015;Yu Cheng & Ru Liou 2013). Kramer (1974) found that the role transition for novice nurses is one of the major contributing factors to stress and dissatisfaction in the first 18 months of practice.…”

“…The challenges faced novice nurses in their first year of employment in Jordanian hospitals such as reality shock, lack of self‐confidence due to inadequate competencies, and burnout and intent to leave nursing schools are no different than those faced nurses in other countries (Bratt et al. ; Nematollahi & Isaac ; Rosenfeld & Glassman ; Yu Cheng & Ru Liou ). Competency‐based education that is student‐centred is another issue that was pointed to by participants of the present study.…”

“…Many challenges have been cited in the literature that faced novice nurses within their first experience in practice settings such as reality shock, lack of competencies, absence of role modelling, lack of social support and lack of preceptorship programs (Haggerty et al 2013;Kelly & Mcallister 2013;Nematollahi & Isaac 2011;Rosenfeld & Glassman 2016;Yu Cheng & Ru Liou 2013). Several researchers reported that novice nurses do not have the adequate level of competence needed in the real clinical practice to meet the increasing demands in the present complex healthcare systems (Rosenfeld & Glassman 2016;Yu Cheng & Ru Liou 2013). Competence was defined by Safadi et al (2010) as the requirements of basic cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills and the improvement of the acquisition of those skills through formal knowledge and clinical experience.…”

The Nurse Professional Competence (NPC) Scale: Self-reported competence among nursing students on the point of graduation

“…[14][15][16][17] In addition, the concept of "nurses' professional competence" is imprecise, as no common, international definition exists. [18][19][20] In the USA, the Faculty of "Quality and Safety Education for Nurses" (QSEN) and the National Advisory Board have defined quality and safety competencies for nurses 21 based on core professional competencies described by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). 5 QSEN has proposed targets for knowledge, skills and attitudes to be developed for each of the following competencies: patient-centred care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics.…”

“…It is of interest to notice that the single factor influencing the highest number of self-reported CAs (7 out of 8) was "Paid work experience in healthcare alongside Many studies have used different instruments to measure self-reported competence among nursing students. [18][19][20][31][32][33][34] Self-reported data are considered valid;…”