Date of Paper/Work
5-2023
Type of Paper/Work
Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Maria Tice
Department/School
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Abstract
Background: Clinical judgment is an essential component of safe nursing practice and is often developed in nursing school. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (n.d.) created the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model, as a framework for the valid measurement of clinical judgment and decision making within the context of a standardized, high-stakes examination, but little is known about how this framework can be used to guide faculty in teaching clinical judgment.
Problem: Senior level nursing students in this baccalaureate pre-licensure program at a private, urban, midwestern university showed lower exam scores on test items at higher cognitive reasoning levels, along with decreasing NCLEX pass rates. When surveyed, 42% of faculty indicated they lacked confidence in using the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s Clinical Judgment Measurement Model to guide teaching strategies.
Methods: Surveys administered pre-, post-, and 10-weeks post faculty development allowed for analyses via paired t tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and repeated measures ANOVA to measure changes in faculty knowledge, confidence, and anxiety when teaching and evaluating student clinical judgment. A thematic analysis of open-ended qualitative survey responses was used to gain additional outcome data.
Interventions: A 1-hour faculty development session on teaching and evaluating student clinical judgment using the National Council State Boards of Nursing’s clinical judgment model along with the introduction of a clinical judgment model champion to support faculty during the new academic year. A Clinical Judgment Learning and Evaluation Tool was provided as an optional tool for faculty to utilize in their nursing curriculum.
Results: Pre- and post-faculty development session survey results showed statistically significant increases in faculty knowledge and confidence and decreased faculty anxiety when teaching and evaluating clinical judgment and using the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s clinical judgment model. Qualitative data indicated the Clinical Judgment Learning and Evaluation Tool supported faculty in teaching clinical judgment skills and students in developing clinical judgment.
Conclusions: Faculty development is associated with increases in faculty knowledge and confidence, and decreased anxiety with teaching and evaluating student clinical judgment. Use of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s clinical judgment model shows promise for use as a conceptual framework to design faculty development on how to teach clinical judgment. Further research is needed on faculty development using the clinical judgment model and to establish reliability and validity of the CJLET.
Recommended Citation
Campbell, Jill Ann. (2023). Implementation of a Staff Development Project to Impact Faculty Use of a Clinical Judgment Model Across the Pre-Licensure Nursing Curriculum. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/dnp_projects/179