COMPARISON OF A PAPER AND PENCIL TEST BASED ON SIMULATED CLINICAL SITUATIONS WITH A CLINICAL PERFORMANCE EXAMINATION (CHALLENGE EXAMINATION, REGISTERED NURSE).
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 101
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This study investigated whether successful performance on a paper-and-pencil test based on simulated clinical situations would predict successful clinical performance in selected clinical situations. Other purposes were to explore the relationship between cognitive and motor skills components of the Clinical Performance Examination and the total Clinical Performance Examination, and to explore interrelationships among the three components of the Clinical Performance Examination. The study sample consisted of 30 volunteer diploma and associate degree graduate applicants to an upper-division baccalaureate nursing program who had successfully passed a paper-and-pencil test based on clinical situations required for entrance into the program.

The conceptual framework adopted for the study was Gegne's (1977) conceptualization of motor skill performance, which was proposed as underlying technical skill performance in nursing. The instruments used were: (1) a demographic questionnaire, (2) a paper-and-pencil test based on simulated clinical situations developed by an upper-division baccalaureate nursing program to test previously gained knowledge and skills of diploma and associate degree graduates, and (3) a Clinical Performance Examination developed for this study which measured the examinees' mastery of specific technical nursing procedures in staged clinical situations. Volunteer subjects who had successfully passed the required paper-and-pencil test based on simulated clinical situations for entrance into the nursing program then took the Clinical Performance Examination. Scores on the paper-and-pencil test based on simulated clinical situations were correlated with scores on the Clinical Performance Examination using the product moment coefficient of correlation.

No significant correlations were found between the individual components of the simulated examination (three simulated clinical nursing interventions), r = .21 to .22. A moderate correlation, r = .47, was found between the total simulated examination and the total Clinical Performance Examination. This finding provides modest evidence that successful performance on the total simulated examination can predict successful performance on the Clinical Performance Examination. The weak correlations between the individual components of the simulated examination and the Clinical Performance Examination indicate that the individual components of the simulated examination cannot be used to predict successful clinical performance.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-09, Section: B, page: 3005.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1985.

School code: 0055.