PSYCHOMOTOR SKILLS DEEMED ESSENTIAL FOR GRADUATES OF ACCREDITED NURSING PROGRAMS: PERCEPTIONS OF NURSING FACULTY AND HOSPITAL INSERVICE EDUCATORS
Abstract
Performance of skills is a widely accepted expectation of professional nurses. Research has indicated that new graduates frequently perform skills at unsatisfactory levels. Lack of an identified group or core curriculum of psychomotor skills contributes to the problem of differing competencies among educational programs. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify a list of psychomotor skills deemed essential for new graduates by nursing educators and hospital inservice educators. Findings were to be examined and evaluated to consider curricular implications for nursing education programs. A randomly selected national sample of nurse educators representing associate degree, diploma, and baccalaureate degree programs was used along with a randomly selected national sample of hospital inservice educators. The final sample of 194 respondents was equally distributed among the four groups. A checklist type questionnaire listing 160 psychomotor skills was sent to participants asking them to use a Likert Scale to indicate their perception of each skill in terms of its essentialness for graduates of three different types of nursing education programs. Data were analyzed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics. Results showed a majority of the skills ranked as essential. For baccalaureate graduates, 155 skills were deemed essential, 152 for diploma graduates, and 150 for associate degree graduates. All of the essential skills were indicated as best learned in the school or educational setting. This study provides evidence that there does exist a common core of psychomotor skills which are essential. Recommendations were made that the list of essential skills generated be used as a core curriculum by nursing educators, that the list be updated as needed to remain current with changing technology, and that follow-up studies be done to continually validate the essential skills. Replication of the study using coded data and more definitive statistical analysis was also recommended.
Recommended Citation
TREKAS, JOANNE T, "PSYCHOMOTOR SKILLS DEEMED ESSENTIAL FOR GRADUATES OF ACCREDITED NURSING PROGRAMS: PERCEPTIONS OF NURSING FACULTY AND HOSPITAL INSERVICE EDUCATORS" (1986). Dissertations (1962 - 2010) Access via Proquest Digital Dissertations. AAI8708734.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations/AAI8708734