Elsevier

Collegian

Volume 25, Issue 2, April 2018, Pages 227-230
Collegian

Are we there yet? Graduate readiness for practice, assessment and final examinations

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2017.06.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

This paper reports on one aspect of a larger doctoral project which investigated the perceptions of qualified nurses on the abilities of newly registered nursing graduates.

Aims

To explore qualified nurses’ perceptions on national examinations for registration in Australia.

Section snippets

Summary of relevance

Problem

Graduating Registered nursing students are not fully prepared for their role as a Registered Nurse on completion of their undergraduate degree.

What is already known

Research has found that qualified nurses hold differing expectations of new graduates’ knowledge and skills. Issues have been highlighted with newly graduated nurses’ basic clinical skills, knowledge deficits around medications and other factors, poorly developed communication skills, and unprofessional behavior.

What this

Design

This paper is part of a larger study using a cross-sectional survey using a mixed methods approach to explore the work readiness of newly registered nursing graduates (Missen, McKenna & Beauchamp, 2015; Missen, McKenna & Beauchamp, 2016a; Missen, McKenna, Beauchamp & Larkins, 2016b). The specific purpose of this paper is to address the following research question:

  • Should a national registration examination be made mandatory on the completion of undergraduate nursing studies in Australia in order

Results

A total of 148 responses were provided to the yes/no question: Should a national registration examination be made mandatory on the completion of undergraduate nursing studies in Australia to become registered with AHPRA? Please state your reasons for your response. Of these, 75 (50.7%) were in support of a national examination for registration, 67 (45.3%) were not in support, and six (4.1%) were unsure if they supported or opposed, but still had comments to add. A range of reasons were provided

Discussion

As part of a larger study this aspect sought to examine nurses’ perceptions about the need for a standardised nursing registration examination. Findings suggest that mixed feelings remain around this issue and highlight some of the key perceptions in existence, with roughly equal numbers of surveyed nurses for and against, and few voicing middle ground views. Clearly, this is an issue that continues to polarise aspects of the profession. Despite thirty years in the higher education sector, it

Limitations

There are some limitations inherent in this study. This research was conducted in one state of Australia and subsequently results may not be transferable to other states and internationally. Due to the non-probability sampling approach used in this research, where nurses with a specific interest in this topic would most likely respond to this survey, the results are only associated with the sample and cannot be generalised to the entire population of qualified nurses.

Conclusion

Considerable research has examined graduate readiness for practice. This study sought nurses’ views on a national registration examination and highlighted polarised views. Findings suggest that there are aspects of the education system that still require attention. Universities have a responsibility to ensure assessment items across the curriculum appropriately measure all aspects for meeting registration standards and provide necessary levels of support to those undertaking clinical

Conflict of Interest

There is no conflict of interest.

Funding Statement

There was no funding received for this project.

References (26)

  • Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council [ANMAC] (2013). National guidelines for the accreditation of...
  • T. Chambers et al.

    Understanding undergraduate students’ experience: A content analysis using NSSE open-ended comments as an example

    Quality & Quantity

    (2012)
  • College of Nurses of Ontario

    Q&As about the NCLEX-RN for exam writers

    (2016)
  • Cited by (7)

    • Psychometric testing and cost of a five-station OSCE for newly graduated nurses

      2022, Nurse Education Today
      Citation Excerpt :

      The failure of graduate nurses to successfully assimilate into their new workplaces may have detrimental consequences, both for them and their employers. This misfit can lead to role confusion, job stress, decreased productivity, and compromised patient outcomes (Missen et al., 2018). Nursing graduates from approved nursing schools in Singapore can apply to the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB) to become registered nurses without having to sit a qualifying examination.

    • Prevalence of horizontal violence of nurses in their first year of practice: A systematic review

      2022, Collegian
      Citation Excerpt :

      Graduate, novice or newly qualified nurses are registered nurses who have completed a nursing degree (or similar qualification) in a post-secondary setting (Brooks & Morphet, 2021; Missen, McKenna, & Beauchamp, 2018).

    • A cross-sectional survey of nursing students' patient safety knowledge

      2020, Nurse Education Today
      Citation Excerpt :

      However, there has been ongoing debate about the extent to which patient safety is appropriately integrated into nursing education programs (Tella et al., 2014), as well as the rigor with which patient safety is taught and assessed (Istomina et al., 2011). In many countries there has been ongoing discussion about the value of, and need for, standardised examinations for assessing nursing students' patient safety knowledge prior to graduation (Missen et al., 2018). Consequently, end-of-program examinations have become common practice in countries such as the United States and Canada; although in many other contexts universities and accreditation authorities have shifted away from this approach.

    • The experience of transition from nursing students to newly graduated registered nurses in Singapore

      2020, International Journal of Nursing Sciences
      Citation Excerpt :

      This phenomenon was known as ‘reality shock’ [10,11]. This is because they are confronted with expectations and responsibilities not previously experienced, hence give rise to feelings of vulnerability, insecurity, inadequacy, and incompetence [7,8,12]. NGRNs also experience a mismatch between the level of responsibility they held as nursing students and their level of responsibility as registered nurses [13,14].

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text