Date of Award
8-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Chair
Dr. Norma Cuellar
Committee Chair School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 2
Dr. LaWanda Baskin
Committee Member 2 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 3
Dr. Lachel Story
Committee Member 3 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 4
Dr. Elizabeth Tinnon
Committee Member 4 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 5
Dr. Kathleen Masters
Committee Member 5 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Abstract
The ongoing nursing shortage worsened in recent years following the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in increasing concerns about future deficits in the nursing workforce. Many nurses are approaching retirement age at a time when the overall demand for healthcare services is expected to increase. Changes in nursing education have been recommended to ensure that the next generation of nurses are willing and prepared to meet the needs of an ageing population. Nursing faculty will have important roles in the education and mentoring of students to prepare them to care for diverse populations in a variety of practice settings. Understanding faculty attitudes about these changes and whether there are long-held beliefs or ‘sacred cow’ practices that may be challenged is an essential first step.
A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to answer the following research question: What do nurse faculty perceive as priority areas for preparing students for practice, and does this affect their teaching? A sample of 13 participants were recruited comprised of nursing faculty from baccalaureate programs across the United States to participate in focus group interviews to explore their perceptions of priority areas for the educational preparation of the next generation of registered nurses. A total of three focus group interviews with four to five participants each were conducted virtually via Zoom between September and November of 2023. The researcher acted as moderator for each of the focus group interviews and asked a set of nine questions that were developed for the purposes of this study. Content analysis was conducted to sort the narrative data collected from the interview transcripts into five categories and 16 subcategories. The data were further analyzed to identify themes of repeating ideas or concepts from within the interview transcripts. A total of five themes emerged during analysis of the narrative data collected from the focus group interviews. The themes included Desire for Students to Succeed, Perceptions of Specific Roles/Settings, Comfort in What is Familiar, Acknowledgment of Changes in Nursing, and Faculty Influence on Students.
The findings of this study provide sight into faculty attitudes toward the preparation of students for practice in various settings. The findings revealed that nursing faculty generally perceive some roles and practice settings to be more appropriate for new nurses and that they prioritize certain areas of content above others The findings also indicate that faculty perceptions of priority areas may affect their teaching in terms of how much focus is given to certain content compared to others. Although further research is recommended to explore this topic, this study provides a basis on which to build and expand the knowledge of this aspect of nursing education.
Copyright
Lisa Radley, 2024
Recommended Citation
Radley, Lisa, "Faculty Attitudes Toward the Preparation of Baccalaureate Nursing Students for Practice in Hospital and Non-Hospital Settings" (2024). Dissertations. 2279.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2279