Impact of interactive situated and simulated teaching program on novice nursing practitioners' clinical competence, confidence, and stress.

BACKGROUND: Novice nursing practitioners (NNPs) often struggle to make the transition to fully competent professionals. We sought to determine the impact of an interactive, situated learning workshop on a participant's clinical competence.

OBJECTIVES: This work aimed to improve the clinical competence, promote the self-confidence, and reduce the number of work-related stressors of NNPs.

METHODS: We randomly allocated 31 newly graduated NNPs into interactive situated and simulated teaching (ISST) and non-ISST groups, which were perceived as the homogeneity of the 2 groups based upon no significant difference at age, education level and work units. The ISST program comprised six follow-up interactive face-to-face support sessions over a three-month period following the standard orientation training course. We assessed the participants' competency, stress, and confidence levels in professional competence before and at the end of the study.

RESULTS: At the end of the three-month study period, the ISST group demonstrated superior nursing competency (p=0.001), as well as reported lower stress levels (p=0.011), and increased confidence in professional competence (p=0.026) as compared with those in the control group. A multiple regression analysis revealed that clinical nursing competence was positively correlated with the use of ISST (p=0.02) and negatively correlated with stress (p=0.03).

CONCLUSIONS: The ISST program for NNPs significantly improved their clinical competence. It may be helpful to ensure that new trainees have access to training programs that can facilitate their acclimation to their new working environments at the beginning of their careers.