Professional nursing education programs and critical competency development outcomes

¶ … Professional Nursing Education Program

The study related in this work is one that seeks to examine, although very briefly, the pros and cons of a professional nursing education program. This study reviews five separate studies, which serve to demonstrate that a professional nursing education program is in fact, a critical factor for the nursing professional in that the nursing professional has a requirement and a responsibility for effective communication with various individuals across various business, healthcare and society sectors during the course of the nursing professional career. This study states findings that education of professional nursing staff and graduate students assist these individuals in their interactions and communications during the course of their career and it has been reported in this study that education has been acknowledge by nursing students to further their "...information-seeking abilities, critical and analytical thinking and professional knowledge and skills..." (Schuldt, Ohlen and Gustvsson, 2008) and that this serves to diminish the severity of the nursing professionals experiences with "...role conflict and stress as they begin practice in work environments of high complexity, nurse shortages, and expectations to become competent rapidly." (Fink, Krugman, Casey, and Goode, 2008)

THE PROS and CONS of a PROFESSIONAL NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION

Professional nursing education programs are more important than most nursing professionals acknowledge and this is simply because they are unfortunately unaware of specifically what it is that they missed in their preparatory years preceding their professional nursing career. Professional nursing education involves more than simply 'hands-on' nursing learning and more than the technology and processes associated with the nursing professional role.

II. ANALYSIS of EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

The work of Shuldt, Ohlen and Gustavsson (2008) entitled: "Generic and Professional Outcomes of a General Nursing Education Program - a National Study of Higher Education" relates that today's nursing education is "primarily catered within the framework of higher education and combined with a health care sector that is rapidly changing, this has put the focus on educational outcome." The study reported by Schuldt, Ohlen and Gustvsson (2008) is one that includes 1,110 students in their final semester of a nursing program at 24 Swedish universities. Findings of this study state the "the students perceived themselves to have especially developed their information-seeking abilities, critical and analytical thinking and professional knowledge and skills, whereas they did not perceive their education to have similarly developed their understanding of people from other cultures or their engagement in the development of society." Nearly all areas of this study demonstrated differences of a significant nature between male and female students in terms of educational outcome. The work of Fink, Krugman, Casey and Goode (2008) entitled: "The Graduate Nurse Experience: Qualitative Residency Program Outcomes" reports a study which evaluated responses to the Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey which was administered to graduate nursing students at the University HelathSystem Consortium/American Association of Colleges of Nursing and states findings that graduate nurses "...experience role conflict and stress as they begin practice in work environments of high complexity, nurse shortages, and expectations to become competent rapidly." (Fink, Krugman, Casey, and Goode, 2008) the work of Spencer (2008) entitled: "Increasing RN-BNS Enrollments: Facilitating Articulation through Curriculum Reform' states that increasing enrollments in nursing programs is one method to deal with the shortage of nurses. However, the majority of these new graduates will be educated at the associate degree in nursing level. The need to increase the number of nurses educated at the baccalaureate level is significant. Research has shown that patient outcomes can be attributed to higher levels of nursing education." (Spencer, 2008)

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

Professional nursing education programs are critically necessary in order to educate the nursing student in the many areas and sectors that must be navigated in order to excel as a professional nurse. Nursing in its truest form is involved deeply in advocacy for the patient through influencing policy by educating policymakers as to the needs of patients to ensure that policy provisions are sufficiently suited to the need that is hand. Additionally as noted in this work education of professional nursing staff and graduate students assist these individuals in their interactions and communications during the course of their career and it has been reported in this study that education has been acknowledge by nursing students to further their "...information-seeking abilities, critical and analytical thinking and professional knowledge and skills..." (Schuldt, Ohlen and Gustvsson, 2008) and that this serves to diminish the severity of the nursing professionals experiences with "...role conflict and stress as they begin practice in work environments of high complexity, nurse shortages, and expectations to become competent rapidly." (Fink, Krugman, Casey, and Goode, 2008) While there are negative aspects of any such initiative it is certain that the positive aspects and outcomes of the professional nursing education program far outweigh any negative results or aspects. The capacity of the nursing professional must be of such a nature that allows the professional nurse to interact with many individuals in many sector of healthcare, business and society thereby making education programs for the nursing professionals a very critical factor in their long-term career success and effective nursing practice.

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The Pros and Cons of a Professional