Perceived Readiness for Practice of Senior Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Abstract

Nursing education is designed to assist students to become beginning practitioners and clinical experiences are essential to this process. As competition for clinical sites increases, educators need to establish best practices of clinical experiences. This mixed method study examined the psychometric properties of a readiness for practice tool, and explored the effects of a clinical internship experience on the perception of readiness for practice of 483 senior baccalaureate nursing students in Kansas and Missouri. Matched results from data collected twice during the semester confirmed that the clinical internship experience increased perception of readiness for practice, with the most benefit coming from internships scheduled over the full semester or at the end of the semester. Total number of hours or type of assigned unit did not affect readiness for practice. Interviews with 16 study participants added supporting information about variables in the internship experience affecting perception of readiness for practice.