Journal of Nursing Education

An exploratory study was undertaken in a three-year nursing diploma program to determine instructor and student perceptions of self-evaluation (SE) and its relationship to clinical evaluation. A cross-section of instructors (n = 9) participated in three rounds of a Delphi survey. From this validated data base a questionnaire was developed and distributed to a stratified sample of 145 students. Combined results were then analyzed and compared. Results indicated that both students and instructors perceive self-evaluation more positively than negatively and they see the main purpose as providing direction for learning. Contrary to the literature and perceptions of surveyed instructors, students did not perceive self-evaluation as a factor in promotion of professional growth. Although students value a participatory role in clinical evaluation, the process of self-evaluation generates anxiety and underrating of performance. The authors conclude that self-evaluation is a developmental skill requiring guidelines and practice, and offer recommendations for its use.

The model facilitates clinical evaluation in four ways. First, teaching and evaluation are easier to distinguish. By allowing students "learning time" early in the stage of maturity and focusing on formative rather than summative evaluation, teaching becomes the primary focus. Later in student maturity, evaluation time is more prominent, when students are more aware of the expectations and more ready to be evaluated. Secondly, the model individualizes evaluation. An assessment of each student's maturity level is imperative when applying the model. For example, when assessing a lower maturity level in a given student, the instructor applies the evaluation methods that best fit with the student's level of maturity--not the method that is best for the other students in the clinical experience. A third benefit is that students can be informed of the model and can participate actively in the evaluation process. Knowing how they will be evaluated, students will understand what to expect, and anxiety will decrease. Finally, the model helps in understanding the student who is not maturing--often called the "failing" student. If the student can be viewed as lacking maturity or the readiness to progress to the next level of clinical performance, rather than as a "failure," not passing the student is easier for the instructor. This view of students also preserves their self-concept and their ability to make future plans. Clinical performance evaluation is very complex and requires considerable time and effort. An evaluation model offers guidance in this complex task.

An experimental teaching procedure was devised and tested for integrating the nursing process, nursing care plans, the research process and management principals. The integration defined as the problem oriented process (POP) was tested with 16 students over two semesters. The results indicated that the POP was a successful integration that aided the student in "getting it all together." As one of the students put it: This experience will give future students, as it did me, a better understanding of how research is best utilized. The students can use almost all their past learning experiences, bringing it all together in one situation. He (the student) can use his communication skills to detect a problem, his research skills to design planned intervention and evaluation and his interpersonal skills to measure his effectiveness as a change agent. Finally, he can use his nursing skills and knowledge of pathophysiology in a setting most like what he will find upon graduation.

Nursing education in the United States has been and continues to be a slowly evolving process. For those involved in nursing education at the end of the 20th century, a brief trip back to the end of the 19th century--to chronicle some of the events of that time that have had an impact on nursing education today, and to review some of the accomplishments of our early nursing educators--makes for an interesting journey.

History should serve two functions: it should provide a more complete picture of the development of civilization, and it should make us aware of our beginnings, where we stand today, and the direction in which we are heading. People are the dynamic element in history. This study provides a historical perspective of nursing through an investigation of social attitudes, economic status and educational opportunities in New England from 1920-1930. Theories from Clarke, Shryock and Baldridge were utilized. An analysis of historical data suggests that nursing educators need to address the current climate of opinion concerning nursing, to analyze the market place to determine the type nursing leaders needed to guide the future of nursing, and to re-evaluate the client-base of professional nursing with a view to attracting and retaining highly qualified people capable of achieving positive collegia! relations with others while improving nursing autonomy.

"The call for the baccalaureate degree in nursing as the educational basis for the profession has a lengthy history. Nursing leaders have suggested the need for the baccalaureate for more than a half century" (Education for, 1983, p. 3). The article culls comments concerning baccalaureate education as entry into professional nursing practice from published statements of selected organizations and groups, and places them in a historical perspective from 1960-1984. Materials from the American Nurses' Association (ANA), National League for Nursing (NLN), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), American Society for Nursing Service Administrators (ASNSA), Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the National Commission on Nursing are included.

h4>ABSTRACT In 1971, Saint Louis University initiated a new type of baccalaureate nursing curriculum, the accelerated option. Since then, there has been an explosion of accelerated baccalaureate nursing (BSN) programs. Despite the popularity of these programs, there is little reported research on the type of students entering accelerated BSN programs and their degree of satisfaction with the programs. This descriptive study aimed to provide a profile of one graduating class of accelerated BSN students. Students in this study had a mean age of 28 and were most likely to have previous baccalaureate degrees in the physical or social sciences. Results indicated that students were, on the whole, satisfied with the accelerated BSN experience, but that the program does pose academic, financial, and personal challenges. Implications for recruitment and retention of accelerated BSN students are discussed. AUTHORS Received: February 28, 2005 Accepted: June 10, 2005 Dr. Meyer is Associate Professor, and Ms. Maposa is a doctoral student, Saint Louis University School of Nursing, St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Hoover is Dean, Nursing & Health Sciences, Neumann College, Aston, Pennsylvania. Address correspondence to Geralyn A. Meyer, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, Saint Louis University School of Nursing, 3525 Caroline Mall, St. Louis, MO 63104; e-mail: meyerga@slu.edu .</P

H4>ABSTRACT Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health and corresponding state health improvement plans provide roadmaps for planning, monitoring, and evaluating population health improvement in the United States. These documents offer relevant guidance for nursing education because they address health workforce education specifically, use a population perspective, and include evidence-based action priorities. However, information about how these documents are used in nursing education is limited. This article discusses the relevance of national and state health planning documents for nursing education. Nurse educators are encouraged to reflect on the alignment of current nursing education efforts with national and state health planning agendas. Suggestions for future use of national and state population health improvement planning documents in guiding strategic, curricular, and course planning are offered. AUTHORS Received: May 14, 2004 Accepted: September 10, 2004 Dr. Zahner is Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing, Madison, and Dr. Block is Chair and Professor, Professional Program in Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, Wisconsin. The authors wish to thank the many public health nursing colleagues in academia and practice in Wisconsin who shared their insights and experiences with using national and state health planning documents. Address correspondence to Susan J. Zahner, DrPH, RN, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing, H6/246 Clinical Science Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792; e-mail: sjzahner@wisc.edu . </P

h4>Enhancing New Students’ Perceptions of Nursing Using a Healthy People 2010 Group Project A challenge for faculty teaching new nursing students is to broaden students’ perspectives about the nursing profession. Due to their limited exposure to and awareness of the various nursing roles, students often view nursing as simply caring for people who are ill. The same may be true for fast-track baccalaureate nursing students transitioning to nursing from other careers. Therefore, an innovative learning strategy was developed for the first nursing course, Introduction to Professional Nursing, for fast-track students. A condensed format of the course was taught during a 5-week period in the summer. [more...]</p

Nursing leadership in Oregon has united behind a plan to address the nursing shortage, setting forth five strategic goals. Two of these are specific to nursing education--to double enrollment by 2004 and redesign nursing education to more directly meet the changing health care needs of Oregonians. This article describes the Oregon Nursing Leadership Council plan and the processes used to develop it. Controversial issues, challenges, and future directions also are discussed.

More than 600 RN-to-BSN programs currently exist in the United States, and the numbers of programs and students are growing rapidly. This unprecedented growth is a result of several factors, including the Institute of Medicine's recommendation that 80% of RNs be BSN prepared by 2020. This survey was undertaken to explore key ideas and issues related to RN-to-BSN education to gather information on how RN-to-BSN programs are changing and to uncover concerns posited by program directors. The survey indicated that lack of standardization has resulted in significant variability in expectations and requirements among RN-to-BSN programs. Further, numerous questions need to be answered and concerns addressed to develop strategies to maintain growth, improve access, and remove barriers without sacrificing quality. Findings can be used to ensure that RN-to-BSN education prepares graduates for the future health care system and that the outcome is not just a piece of paper. [J Nurs Educ. 2013;52(x):xxx-xxx.].