The socialization process of master's-level nurse practitioner students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Advanced Practice Nursing
• Professional Socialization

Background:

• Graduate nurse practitioner (NP) programs aim to prepare students for advanced roles.
• Effective professional socialization is critical for NP role competency and patient care.
• Understanding socialization factors is essential for curriculum development and student support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the socialization of final-semester graduate nurse practitioner students into their master's-prepared roles.
• To identify factors influencing the nurse practitioner socialization process.
• To evaluate student expectations of nurse practitioner role behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A national survey was conducted with 94 final-semester graduate-level adult nurse practitioner students.
• Data were collected on student backgrounds and educational experiences.
• Statistical analyses examined the influence of various factors on role behavior expectations.

Main Results:

• Student background factors did not significantly influence expectations of nurse practitioner role behaviors.
• The educational factor "opportunity to practice role behaviors" significantly increased expectations for master's-level NP behaviors (p < .01).
• Students placed significantly greater importance on technical role behaviors compared to master's-level role behaviors (p < .01).

Conclusions:

• Graduate nurse practitioner students may not be adequately socialized into the master's-prepared role.
• Providing opportunities to practice advanced role behaviors is vital for effective socialization.
• Curricula should emphasize both technical proficiency and the broader scope of master's-prepared nurse practitioner practice.