Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2008. / Title from title screen (viewed 11 February 2009). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Nursing And Midwifery. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rand Graduate School, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-60).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. / Prepared for: School of Allied Health Professions. Bibliography: leaves 189-212. Also available online.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Virginia, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-97).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Virginia, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-97). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

This study was based upon the requirements of the Scope of Practice of the Registered Nurses (R2598 of 1984 as amended) as prescribed by the South African Nursing Council. The clinical competency of new graduate nurses, with regard to the care of individual clients, depends on their ability to correlate theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom with practice and the development of clinical skills. Its foundation lies in the ability to identify and solve problems that emanate from critical thinking, analytic reasoning and reflective practice. It is clear that the quality of clinical exposure plays a leading role in the development of learners into nursing professionals. Nursing skills alone cannot ensure quality care of clients without the application of theory. Facilitation of this theory to practice remains, therefore, an essential component of nursing education. This study was aimed at identifying areas of incompetence of new graduate nurses (1998-2001) in the clinical area, by determining the new graduates and professional nurses perceptions of the competence of the new graduate nurses. The intention was to make recommendations regarding the identified areas of incompetence. Descriptive research was found appropriate to the study, using the parameters of the Scope of Practice of the Registered Nurse (R2598 of 1984 as amended) A quantitative non-experimental descriptive survey was undertaken to generate information on the clinical competence of new graduate nurses (1998-2001). <p. An in-depth literature study was conducted to generate information that was used as the basis for the study. For data collection, two types of structured questionnaires were used to obtain information from professional nurses and new graduate nurses (1998-2001). Permission to conduct research from the selected institutions was granted by the Department of Health in Mmabatho and the ethical committees of management of identified hospitals in the North West Province. An analysis of the data obtained from the study yielded the following findings with regard to clinical area: <ul> <li>Shortage of staff, equipment and supplies negatively affect the competency of new graduate nurses. </li> <li>New graduate nurses are expected to perform beyond their scope of practice and there is discrepancy between what the new graduate nurses learned in the classroom and what they see in the clinical area. </li> <li>Orientation programmes need to be reviewed and they are often neglected due to shortage of staff. <br> </ul> Findings with regard to performance of new graduate nurses: <ul><li>Ethics and professional practice need to be emphasized and graduates educated regarding the rights of patients. </li> <li>New graduate nurses have sufficient theoretical knowledge but lack competency in basic nursing skills due to an inability to correlate theory to practice. </li> <li>New graduate nurses are perceived to be arrogant and perceive themselves as having a higher education or qualifications. </li> <li>College graduates are perceived to be more competent than university graduates because of their "extensive" exposure to clinical practice. </li> <li>New graduate nurses consider themselves to be above certain basic skills after completion of training. <br> </ul> Conclusions that can be drawn from this study are that there are many factors that impact negatively on the competency of new graduate nurses. These emanate from the clinical area, as well as during the education and development of new graduate nurses. Recommendations regarding the education and development, evaluation of students and the clinical practice area have been made. / Dissertation (MCur (Nursing Education))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Nursing Science / unrestricted

This article outlines a process for developing standardized patient cases. The initial step in the process is to define the educational goals of the exercise. Following this step the patient characteristics, setting for the interaction and clinical information are developed. Clinical information, in addition to history, may include elements of nonverbal communication, actual or simulated abnormal physical findings, and laboratory results. Guidelines for the standardized patient regarding disclosure of information to the student and providing feedback to the student enhance the value of the case. If the case is to be used as part of an examination, a grading system must be developed. Issues of cost, validity, and reliability are briefly addressed. .

The complexity and broadening of competencies have led to a number of assessment frameworks that advocate for the use of rater judgment in direct observation of clinical performance. The degree to which these assessment processes produce scores that are valid, are therefore vitally dependent on a rater’s cognitive ability. A number of theories suggest that many of the cognitive structures needed to complete rating tasks are capacity limited and may therefore become a source of difficulty when rating demands exceed resources. This thesis explores the role of rating demands on the performance and behaviour of raters in the assessment of clinical competence and asks: in what way do rating demands associated with rating clinical performance affect rater performance and behaviour? I hypothesized that as rating demands increase, rating performance declines and raters engage in cognitive avoidance strategies in order to complete the task. I tested this hypothesis by manipulating intrinsic and extraneous sources of load for raters in the assessment of clinical performance. Results consistently demonstrated that intrinsic load, specifically broadening raters’ focus by increasing the number of dimensions to be considered simultaneously, negatively affected indicators of rating quality. However, extraneous demands failed to result in the same effect in 2 of 3 experiments. When we explored the cognitive strategies raters engage under high load conditions we learned of a number of strategies to reduce cognitive work, including idiosyncratically minimizing intrinsic demands (leading to poor inter-rater reliability) and active elimination of sources of extraneous load, explaining both findings. When we induced extraneous load in manner that could not be easily minimized by raters, we also found impairments in rater performance, specifically the provision of feedback. I conclude that rating demands, whether induced intrinsically or by extraneous sources, impair rater performance affecting both the utility of scores and the opportunity for learner development. Implications for health professions education and future directions are discussed. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of simulation training in improving the clinical competence of pupil nurses. A quantitative, quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group before-after design is used. The method of data collection is observation using check lists. The population for this study includes the second-year pupil nurses (N=43) following the two-year programme leading to enrolment as a nurse at the Gauteng learning centre of a private hospital group during 2011-2012. The results reveal that although there is proof that clinical training in simulation improves the competence levels of the experimental group in the procedure administration of oral medication over a period of time, there is no proof that this is true for the procedure observation of patients’ neurological functions and, therefore, the researcher cannot come to a definite conclusion about the effectiveness of simulation training / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)