EVALUATIVE COMPETENCIES AS PERCEIVED BY DIPLOMA, ASSOCIATE DEGREE, AND BACCALAUREATE DEGREE NURSING GRADUATES, NURSING EDUCATORS, AND ADMINISTRATORS OF NURSING SERVICES.
Contributors: Georgia State University.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 385
Subjects: Education, Higher.
Description: Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify evaluative competencies necessary for the beginning graduates of diploma, associate degree, and baccalaureate degree nursing programs and to determine if these competencies varied according to educational level.

Methods and Procedures. The purposive sample in this descriptive study consisted of 224 beginning registered nurses, 129 nurse educators, and 91 nursing service administrators. Data were collected by an investigator-designed closed mailed questionnaire containing 49 evaluative competencies divided into five categories: nursing process, conceptual knowledge, self-evaluation, peer evaluation, and performance evaluation. Instrument validity was determined by a panel of nursing judges and reliability was determined by test-retest. Statistical analysis was by frequencies and percentages. Any competency receiving 69.5% or above was considered a necessary competency.

Results. For beginning nursing practice, baccalaureate educators identified nursing process, conceptual knowledge, self-evaluation, and performance evaluation competencies. Associate degree educators identified mainly nursing process, and diploma educators identified nursing process and self-evaluation.

For beginning nursing practice, the combined group of nursing service administrators perceived that: the baccalaureate graduate should possess a majority of evaluative competencies in all five categories; the associate degree graduate should possess 12 nursing process competencies; and the diploma graduate should possess 22 nursing process competencies, 2 competencies each in self-evaluation and performance evaluation, and 1 competency in conceptual knowledge.

Diploma and baccalaureate graduates perceived evaluative competencies to be taught in all five categories, whereas associate degree graduates perceived nursing process with some conceptual knowledge and performance evaluation. In the clinical setting, diploma and associate degree graduates perceived nursing process and performance evaluation to be used, whereas baccalaureate graduates perceived primarily nursing process competencies to be used.

Conclusions. There were differences in expectations in the evaluative competencies for beginning registered nurses from diploma, associate degree, and baccalaureate degree nursing programs as perceived by nursing educators and nursing service administrators.

Diploma and baccalaureate degree beginning registered nurses were more alike than different in their perceptions of evaluative competencies taught in their programs.

Diploma and associate degree beginning registered nurses were alike in their perceptions of evaluative competencies used in the clinical work setting.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-09, Section: A, page: 2584.

Thesis (PH.D.)--GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1984.

School code: 0079.