Evaluating the Clinical Judgment of Newly Hired Staff Nurses.

Assessing newly hired nurses' readiness for practice is critical for safe practice and the quality care of patients; therefore, hospitals need effective assessment strategies to promote clinical judgment development. One large medical center hospital developed a process to assess new hires' clinical judgment, using case studies. This article describes the assessment process and reports findings from a retrospective analysis of the clinical judgment competency of the participants.

Becoming a nurse: role formation among accelerated baccalaureate students.

To understand nursing role formation for students enrolled in an accelerated baccalaureate nursing program, end-of-term narrative reflections from 34 students were analyzed over the course of the 15-month program. Using thematic analysis, 4 major themes were identified: evolving role perception, extending nursing student-patient interaction, engaging with health care team and systems of care, and expanding clinical thinking.

Preparing nursing students for the future: an innovative approach to clinical education.

A clinical education model was developed and implemented by nursing faculty in the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education undergraduate curriculum to improve clinical learning for preparation of nurses to practice in the 21st century. This clinical education model, developed though collaborative work by nursing practice and education representatives throughout the state, moves away from a "random access opportunity" model of clinical education reliant on "total patient care" experiences to an intentional design of clinical learning activities based on course competencies appropriate to student level. Five elements of the model were proposed: case-based, concept-based, intervention skill-based, focused direct client care and integrative experiences.