Extern Programs Promote Confidence and Reduce Anxiety With Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Students

Background Clinical decision making (CDM), expected of professional nurses, affects patient outcomes but is arduous for nursing students to learn. Psychological barriers (low self-confidence [SC] and high anxiety with CDM) have an impact on its achievement. Externship programs help mitigate these barriers. Purpose The aim was to examine the impact of summer employment (nurse extern [NE], nursing assistant, and non–health care employed) on students' confidence and anxiety with CDM. Methods The study used a quasi-experimental before-and-after design using the Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision Making scale. Associate and baccalaureate degree students (N = 134) from 2 nursing and 2 extern programs were included. Results The NEs reported significantly increased SC (F = 14.02, P
Source: Nurse Educator - Category: Nursing Tags: Feature Articles Source Type: research