Evidence is accumulating that nurses completing pre-licensure programs are not equipped with the essential knowledge and skills for today’s nursing practice, nor prepared to continue learning for tomorrow’s nursing. Citing the need to improve quality and increase capacity, this paper offers three recommendations for transforming nursing education: (1) Create new nursing education systems which use existing resources in community colleges and universities and which provide for common prerequisites and a shared competency-based nursing curriculum and instructional materials. (2) Convene one or more expert panels to develop model pre-licensure curricula which: (a) can be used as a framework by faculty in community college-university partnerships for development of their local curriculum; (b) are based on emerging health care needs and widely accepted nursing competencies as interpreted for new care delivery models; (c) incorporate best practices in teaching and learning. (3) Invest in a national initiative to develop and evaluate new approaches to pre-licensure clinical education, including a required post-graduate residency under a restricted license. The author notes that these changes will require significant investment in the reforms, as well as in nursing education research and faculty development. The return on investment would be improved educational capacity and a better prepared nursing workforce, responsive to emerging health care needs and rapidly changing health care delivery systems. TRANSFORMING PRE-LICENSURE NURSING EDUCATION: PREPARING THE NEW NURSE TO MEET EMERGING HEALTH CARE NEEDS The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching joins a chorus of calls for transformation of pre-licensure nursing education (Benner et al., 2009b). Citing the shift of significant responsibility to nurses for managing complex medical regimens, as well as increasing complexity of community based practices, Benner and colleagues concluded that nurses entering the field are not equipped with the essential knowledge and skills for today’s practice nor prepared to continue learning for tomorrow’s nursing (p. 31). They found (1) weak curricula in natural sciences, technology, social sciences and humanities, and in developing cultural competency; (2) weak classroom instruction and limited integration between classroom and clinical experiences; (3) limited strategies in helping The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Key Messages and Report Recommendations

Large enrollment foundational courses are perceived as "high stakes" because of their potential to act as barriers for progression to the next course or admittance to a program. The nature of gateway courses makes them ideal settings to explore the relationship between anxiety, pedagogical interventions, and student performance. Here, two-stage collaborative examinations were implemented to improve test-taking skills and address widespread test anxiety in an introductory human anatomy course. Test anxiety data were collected (using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) before the first examination and last examination. Most students experienced decreased test anxiety over the course of the semester; however, some students may have experienced performance limiting conditions due to test anxiety at the end of the semester based on academic ability in the course (in "C" students when compared to "A" students: P < 0.00006 and "B" students: P < 0.05), overall academic ability (in academically weaker students: P < 0.025), and demographic factors (in women: P < 0.025). The strongest performances on examinations were primarily observed in already academically strong students (mean individual performance: P < 0.000, mean group performance: P < 0.000). Furthermore, changes in test anxiety were not significantly associated with the group portion of the examinations. Patterns of changes in test anxiety over the course of the semester underscore a complex interaction between test anxiety, student background, and student performance. Results suggest that pathways for test anxiety in "high stakes" courses may be separate from the mechanisms responsible for the benefits of collaborative testing. Anat Sci Educ 10: 409-422. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

Using collaborative two-stage examinations to address test anxiety in a large enrollment gateway course.

Introduction: Collaborative testing is a learning strategy thatprovides students with the opportunity to learn and practicecollaboration. This study aimed to determine the effect ofcollaborative testing on test performance and retention of coursecontent in nursing students of Shiraz University of MedicalSciences, Shiraz, Iran.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 84students enrolled in the course of Medical-Surgical 2 in Spring2013 and Fall 2013 semesters. The control group consisting of 39students participated in the first mid-term exam in an individualformat. The intervention group, on the other hand, consisted of45 students who took the test in a two-stage process. The firststage included an individual testing, while the second stage wasa collaborative one given in groups of five individuals chosenrandomly. Four weeks later, in order to investigate retention ofthe course content, both groups took part in the second mid-termexam held individually.Results: The study findings showed significant differencebetween the mean scores in the intervention group in the Fall 2013semester (p=0.001). Besides, a statistically significant differencewas found between the two groups regarding the tests mean scores(p=0.001). Moreover, retention of course content improved in thecollaborative group (p=0.001).Conclusion: The results indicated an increase in test performanceand a long-term learning enhancement in collaborative testingcompared with the traditional method. Collaborative testing, as anactive learning technique and a valuable assessment method, canhelp nursing instructors provide the alumni with strong problemsolvingand critical thinking abilities at healthcare environments.Keywords: Collaborative; Nursing Education; Collaborative learning

https://jamp.sums.ac.ir/article_40944_9ffde870d1a4f7a01e5931d274a76a8e.pdf

Effect of collaborative testing on learning and retention of course content in nursing students.

Guided university debate: Effect of a new teaching-learning strategy for undergraduate nursing students

The use of structured debate as a teaching strategy among undergraduate nursing students: A systematic review.

A lthough nearly one-third of the US population is composed of minority groups, only 16.8% of registered nurses (RNs) are minority. An increase in underrepresented minorities in the nursing workforce has the potential to improve healthcare delivery by RNs. However, there are many challenges that minority nursing students face, including lack of financial support, family demands, poor academic preparation and study skills, language barriers, and feelings of differentness. Classroom group activities can address these barriers in several ways, such as facilitating peer support and increasing socialization. The latter leads to increased retention as feelings of loneliness and isolation decrease for students. In addition, capitalizing on making friends among their student colleagues allows students to practice language skills, explore cultural differences within a peer group, and experience critical thinking from another person’s point of view. New friendships lead to increased use of study groups with peer encouragement and motivation to persist. Collaborative testing (CT) is 1 group activity that is a learning strategy, but whether it increases student success and serves as a retention strategy has had minimal study. Collaborative testing may enhance learning in ways that have been recommended to promote success of minority students by increased learning of content, critical thinking skills, communication, socialization, and group process.

June A. Eastridge

Papers

Use of collaborative testing to promote nursing student success.