Document Type

Dissertation

Peer Reviewed

1

Publication Date

9-2009

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Nursing education faces the challenge of preparing graduates to face the complexities that are found in today’s health care environment. Upon graduation, new nurses must be able to care for patients in a fast-paced environment that emphasizes clinical competence and accurate, timely decision-making skills. Self-efficacy is a characteristic that is believed to increase an individual’s ability to be successful at a task. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of simulation to impact the development of clinical self-efficacy in junior- and senior-level nursing students at a Midwestern liberal arts university. This study also evaluated student satisfaction with simulation as an educational strategy. An evaluation design methodology that was quantitative in nature was utilized for this study. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in clinical self-efficacy scores from the pre-test to the post-test for both the experimental and the control groups. The findings also indicated that when the two groups were compared to each other, the experimental group had a higher clinical self-efficacy score, but the difference was not statistically significant. The analysis of the data also revealed that there was no significant difference in clinical self-efficacy scores based on the role that the learner played in the simulation. Finally, the analysis of the data revealed that there was a significant difference in learner satisfaction based on the level of the learner. The information obtained from this study will serve to stimulate further research and discussion regarding the use of simulation in nursing education.

Comments

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy, Capella University

Download

Share

COinS