Clinical judgment in new nurse graduates: identifying the gaps.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical judgment has been identified as a key component of clinical practice. We sought to measure the elements of clinical judgment in new nurse graduates to identify future educational interventions. METHODS: Lasater's clinical judgment rubric was adapted and distributed to nurse preceptors at two significant health care systems in central Illinois. RESULTS: One hundred and six surveys were returned and one hundred and five of those were included in the study. New nurse graduates were found to be the lowest ranking in ability to identify significant data and calm, confident responses. CONCLUSIONS: The findings can guide nurse educators to create innovative, targeted educational interventions to improve students' ability to identify important pieces of data and respond to challenging situations in a self-assured manner. IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE: Identifying and addressing the gaps to improve students' clinical judgment may facilitate NCLEX success and entry to practice.

Beliefs and Experiences of Nurse Educators Regarding Changing Answers on Examinations.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore nurse educators' beliefs and experiences regarding students changing answers on multiple-choice examinations. BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that answer-changing behavior does not negatively affect academic performance and may actually have a positive impact, but published studies reporting nurse educators' beliefs and experiences on this topic are limited. METHOD: A mixed-methods approach, QUAN + Qual, was employed. A survey with closed- and open-ended questions was emailed to nurse educators in Illinois. RESULTS: Of the 125 nurse educators who completed the survey, a majority held negative views of answer-changing behavior; many noted that their experiences with students had shaped their views. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators in this sample held an overall negative view of this behavior, contrary to the overall body of evidence suggesting there is possible benefit in changing answers. Several reasons exist to explain the inconsistency observed.