The clinical competency of practicing and nonpracticing faculty of associate degree schools of nursing

This study assesses and describes the perception of clinical competency and the relationship to clinical practice of full-time nursing faculty in the associate degree nursing programs in the state of Florida. The study was developed around one major hypothesis and four research questions. The Hygiene-Motivators Theory proposed by Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman (1959) provided the conceptual framework to explain factors that would motivate a person to expand workload and maintain job satisfaction.^ Data were collected from the 244 faculty members teaching full-time at the 15 associate degree schools of nursing accredited by the National League for Nursing in the state of Florida. A total of 186 faculty (76%) responded and 175 (72%) cases were used for data analysis.^ Two instruments were modified and combined for the investigation. The instruments were the Faculty Perception of Practice Questionnaire (Parascenzo, 1983) and a three-part Attributes Deemed Necessary for Faculty to Proclaim Clinical Competency (Smith, 1991) scale. Computer analyses employing descriptive and inferential statistics were performed.^ The findings revealed that faculty were closely divided as to practice activities with more faculty nonpracticing than practicing. Factors identified as impediments to increased clinical practice were identified as teaching load and personal/family responsibilities that lead to a lack of time and lack of opportunity. Those faculty who practice did so as moonlighters in positions that would not require advanced training. Both the practicing and nonpracticing faculty reported a high level of satisfaction with their activities as a means of maintaining clinical practice. While both groups reported a high level of expertise, those practicing faculty perceived themselves to be more clinically competent on the attributes of knowledge, skills, and on the total attribute scale. It was further revealed that perception of competency declined with the length of time spent out of practice. There was no difference in the two groups on the attributes of values/attitude. ^

The effects of an individualized clinical reading program on kindergarten and beginning grade one at -risk students: A longitudinal study

This was a longitudinal study that investigated the effects of an early intervention program which was implemented at the beginning of formal reading instruction and used individual clinical instruction with at-risk students. A total of 37 private school students were divided into three cognitive ability groups and evaluated over a three year period using the reading comprehension and study skills sections of the Stanford Achievement Tests (1982) administered annually. At-risk students were matched with a normal peer group for gender, cognitive ability, and time at school. Results showed there were no significant differences in the reading comprehension scores for program and non-program students. However, the at-risk group showed significantly lower scores on the study skills section at the end of grade three. These results indicate that early reading intervention for at-risk students promotes compensation and helps develop processes for adequate reading comprehension but these students continue to have weaker linguistic abilities. ^

Subject -centered and problem -based approaches to teaching clinical competence in physical therapy

Physical therapy students must apply the relevant information learned in their academic and clinical experience to problem solve in treating patients. I compared the clinical cognitive competence in patient care of second-year masters students enrolled in two different curricular programs: modified problem-based (M P-B; n = 27) and subject-centered (S-C; n = 41). Main features of S-C learning include lecture and demonstration as the major teaching strategies and no exposure to patients or problem solving learning until the sciences (knowledge) have been taught. Comparatively, main features of M P-B learning include case study in small student groups as the main teaching strategy, early and frequent exposure to patients, and knowledge and problem solving skills learned together for each specific case. Basic and clinical orthopedic knowledge was measured with a written test with open-ended items. Problem solving skills were measured with a written case study patient problem test yielding three subscores: assessment, problem identification, and treatment planning. ^ Results indicated that among the demographic and educational characteristics analyzed, there was a significant difference between groups on ethnicity, bachelor degree type, admission GPA, and current GPA, but there was no significant difference on gender, age, possession of a physical therapy assistant license, and GRE score. In addition, the M P-B group achieved a significantly higher adjusted mean score on the orthopedic knowledge test after controlling for GRE scores. The S-C group achieved a significantly higher adjusted mean total score and treatment management subscore on the case study test after controlling for orthopedic knowledge test scores. These findings did not support their respective research hypotheses. There was no significant difference between groups on the assessment and problem identification subscores of the case study test. The integrated M P-B approach promoted superior retention of basic and clinical science knowledge. The results on problem solving skills were mixed. The S-C approach facilitated superior treatment planning skills, but equivalent patient assessment and problem identification skills by emphasizing all equally and exposing the students to more patients with a wider variety of orthopedic physical therapy needs than in the M P-B approach. ^