2021 Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 65-70
This study examined how clinical nursing practicums impact clinical reasoning in nursing students. A nursing practicum was conducted with 82 students in the third year of a four-year bachelor's course in nursing. The students' clinical reasoning was measured before and after the nursing practicum using a self-report survey. The survey measured clinical reasoning using a scale to assess the critical thinking of clinical nurses as an operationalized measure. Data were obtained from 41 participants in the pre-nursing practicum survey and 42 in the post-nursing practicum survey. An unpaired t-test revealed that overall scores wweere significantly higher in the post-nursing practicum survey, as were the scores for three subscales: reasoning, creativity, and intuition. However, no significant improvements were observed in the other subscales: open-mindedness, perseverance, and reflection. This study suggests that nursing students improve their clinical reasoning ability through the process of immersing themselves in cases during nursing practicum, verbalizing their thoughts and communicating them to others, and receiving feedback from instructors and teachers.
