Date
10-16-2024
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Chair
Shelley Blackwood
Keywords
associate, clinical decision making, confidence, high-fidelity simulation, nursing education, patient care delivery
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Posey, Deborah Marie, "High-fidelity Simulation and the Development of Self-confidence in Clinical Decision Making When Delivering Patient Care" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6093.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6093
Abstract
The competition for available clinical practice sites has increased the need for alternative measures to provide the means for nursing students to develop self-confidence in clinical decision making when providing patient care. The purpose of this one-group, pretest-posttest correlational study was to determine fourth semester associate-degree-seeking nursing students’ perceived levels of self-confidence and anxiety with clinical decision making when delivering patient care after completing a standardized high-fidelity simulation (HFS) following the pandemic. Kolb’s experiential learning theory provided the theoretical framework for this study explaining the connection between experiential learning and HFS. The Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision Making Scale (NASC-CDM©) was utilized to obtain the data. After consenting, the participants completed a demographic survey, a pre-survey before completing a standardized HFS experience, and a post-survey. Of the 144 potential participants, 67 consented to participate. The participants were predominantly female (85.1%), white (59.7%), 18–24 years old (32.8%), and had previous healthcare experience (68.7%). Both parametric (paired samples t test, two-tailed and Pearson’s r, two-tailed) and non-parametric (Wilcoxon signed rank, matched pairs, two-tailed test, and Spearman’s coefficient, rs, two-tailed) statistics were conducted; each revealing statistically significant results (p < .001) and large effect sizes. Thus, the findings of this study indicate that HFS has a statistically significant positive effect on self-confidence in clinical decision making with a decrease in anxiety levels for the participating fourth-semester associate-degree-seeking nursing students. One recommendation is to control for previous healthcare experience in similar one-group, pre-test, post-test correlational studies.
