Abstract

The concept of critical thinking (CT) has perplexed employers and researchers in the field of nursing for decades. The nursing profession is under intense pressure to hire clinicians who exhibit CT skills. A review of the literature has shown that the divide between bedside clinicians and nursing faculty has led to the separation of academic educators from clinical practices. As a result, new graduates come into the clinical setting inadequately prepared to meet the clinical demands of today's hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of new graduate nurses from a Baccalaureate program and their transition into clinical practice. A generic qualitative approach sought to describe and understand the topic of interest, with respect to nurses' preparedness to meet the demands of their profession. The results of the study found that the new graduate nurses did not feel confident entering the workforce of the nursing profession. Study participants reported the lack of skills training as the major reason for their feelings of being ill-prepared in the clinical setting. Collaboration between academia and hospital settings must focus on shared responsibilities for meeting the learning needs of new graduates. In so doing, this will enhance the quality of care provided and patient safety.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3730569; ProQuest document ID: 1735800580. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Kathleen Anne Diatta, PhD, RN, NE-BC

Sigma Membership

Alpha Epsilon

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Critical Thinking, Nursing Students, Nursing Education, Clinical Judgment, Theory-Practice Gap

Advisor

Dionne Felix

Second Advisor

Adair White-Johnson

Third Advisor

Lisa Martin

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

Capella University

Degree Year

2015

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2021-10-29

Full Text of Presentation

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