Information structures: an analysis of nursing performance

This study demonstrated a methodology of measuring information content and manipulation of nursing subject matter and suggested features of information processing nurses may use to determine the condition of patients. Subjects included 23 associate degree nurses (experts) and 37 first-year AD nursing students (novices) who sorted 59 data elements of a simulated client problem into categories. As a result, 12 categories of patient problems were identified, which were subjected to a latent partition analysis to identify common categorization. Subjects then were asked to decide on appropriate patient interventions. The two groups--experts and novices--were compared re: mean number of data elements requested, mean number of elements requested by LPA category, t test of the mean weights for each category, and rank order correlations of category emphasis. The 12 protocols were then tested for conformity to experience by nine judges. Experts were found to address more problems than novices; they placed more emphasis on current vital signs, pain, and neurological check.