COMPARISON OF PERCEIVED DECISION-MAKING SKILLS HELD BY BEGINNING NURSES FROM DIPLOMA, ASSOCIATE DEGREE, AND BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS.
Contributors: University of Maryland, College Park.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 718
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Health.
Description: The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine perceptions of decision making of beginning registered nurses from diploma, associate degree, and baccalaureate programs during application of the nursing process on medical and surgical units in a hospital setting.

This investigation used 26 structured interview questions designed around each phase of the nursing process to elicit the 45 subjects' perceptions of importance and types of decisions; frequency of types of decisions, competence in decision making; and source and method of learning decision-making skills used in nursing practice. The subjects' responses to the four research questions of this study were analyzed using five steps of Glaser and Strauss (1967) grounded theory methodology to classify the types and complexity of decisions. Harrison's theory of the decision-making process was used as a theoretical framework because it provides a typology for decision complexity that may be applied to decision making within the hospital setting (1975, p.31).

Analysis of the data led to the following conclusions: (1) All subjects' patterns of response were distinct for assessment, phase one of the nursing process, from their responses to the other three phases. (2) All subjects' patterns of response were different from phase one, but similar to each other in phases two, three, and four of the nursing process. (3) The nurses of the three types of programs differed in the selection of type and complexity of decisions for each phase of the nursing process. (4) The baccalaureate nurses had the highest selection of complex nursing decisions in each phase of the nursing process. (5) The diploma and associate degree nurses had the higher selections of simple decisions in each phase of the nursing process.

Recommendation: A study be undertaken utilizing structured instruments with predesigned content categories for types and complexity of decisions using a larger sample; multiple units of care specialties, multiple hospitals with all three program subjects new to the settings; and direct observation of nursing practice rather than self perception for data gathering.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-02, Section: B, page: 0471.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK, 1984.

School code: 0117.