Biology and Medicine

Preliminary investigation of continuous self-improvement and nursing student clinical performance

Annual Congress on Medicine

November 05-06, 2018 Bangkok, Thailand

Dale M Hilty and Nathan Kessler

Mount Carmel College of Nursing, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Biol Med

Abstract:

In the academic environment, Wooden???s competitive greatness can be linked to Continuous Self-Improvement (CSI). By focusing on individual growth and development, there are endless opportunities to expand our skills and abilities. Meyer???s 10-80-10 principle estimates that 10 percent are in relentless pursuit of improvement or CSI. We have an example of a CSI nursing student functioning at an exceptional level of engagement, deeper learning processing of material from textbook readings and lecture presentations. Using an intrinsic reward system, they internalize content and concepts and continuously apply them in new, unique ways. These students appear to feel the satisfaction and receive the validation they are going to be excellent nurses. Not only do they understand the scientific and theoretical aspects of nursing, but they also demonstrate the art and caring nature of an excellent and compassionate nurse. Viewing performance on a continuum (4=Exceptional, 3=Exceeds Expectations, 2=Meets Expectations, 1=Improvement Needed/Unsatisfactory). A majority of nursing students (i.e., non-CSI) appear grouped in Meyer's 80 percent category who meets the requirements of their nursing program requirements. They obtain their BSN degree, state licensure and are successfully employed RNs. The CSI students appear to regularly offer higher levels of patient care, demonstrate higher level of performance on their clinical paperwork (e.g., care plan, concept map, lab analysis, medical information). They more frequently demonstrate a big picture understanding by being able to reliably answer five questions: (1) What did I learn about the patient? (2) What concepts can I apply from my course???s theoretical component? (3) What connections can I find between a variety of variables? (4) What directed my care? (5) How and why did I perform the tasks? The nursing students were evaluated on a weekly basis regarding their clinical performance in providing patient care. Evaluations were based on seven operational behaviors. Since the medical-surgical course is a 16-week course, it was able to collect weekly intervals of how the CSI (Meyer's 10% estimate) and non-CSI (Meyer's 80% estimate) students spent their time on clinical setting objectives and behaviors. The evaluation used three criteria: On intermittent direct observation, the clinical evaluation tool and the electronic health record. Student performance on the seven behaviors provided a weekly behavioral measurement. Using SPSS 25 (independent t-test), a significant difference was found between the CSI and the non-CSI students (p=0.001). Examples of one operational performance behavior: Non-CSI: Regarding the Electronic Health Record (EHR), student uses the rubric to determine the type of clinical paperwork to complete as well as to guide their practice. CSI: Regarding the Electronic Health Record (EHR), student completes clinical paperwork, consults with interdisciplinary healthcare professionals and their peers to deliver patient care.

Biography :

Dale M Hilty is an Associate Professor at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing, USA. He has received his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the Department of Psychology at The Ohio State University, USA. He has published studies in the areas of psychology, sociology and religion.

E-mail: dhilty@mccn.edu