Summary
Background
Tertiary nurse education programmes aim to produce novice nurses able to meet the
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia competency standards for registration. On
the other hand, employers expect graduate nurses to not only be competent and able
to function safely and independently but also to be ready to “hit the ground running”
in relation to providing clinical care.
Aims
The study aimed to explore the perceptions of third-year nursing students enrolled
in their final semester with regard to their preparedness for practice.
Method
Following their last clinical placement, all third-year nursing students at a regional
northern Australian university were emailed a link to an online version of the Casey-Fink
Readiness for Practice Survey tool and invited to participate in the study. A total
of 113 questionnaires were completed from the sample of 235, giving a response rate
of 48%.
Results
The majority of students reported feeling prepared for practice and felt that simulation
experiences were helpful in attaining this state. Confidence in caring for multiple
patients was inversely associated with age indicating higher levels of confidence
in younger nursing students. Expanded placements, increased use of simulation for
clinical skills practice, smaller clinical skills class sizes and modern equipment
were identified as areas for improvement to facilitate and enhance students’ levels
of confidence and readiness for practice.
Conclusions
Students in this study highly valued clinical placements as a method of increasing
their levels of perceived preparedness to practice independently after graduation.
Caring for multiple patients involves a high level of complexity and a learning curve
is indicated in which confidence and competence is likely to grow with experience.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 10, 2014
Accepted:
May 19,
2014
Received in revised form:
May 15,
2014
Received:
July 18,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
