Emergency nursing students' and nurse educators' perception of care delivery: A comparison study of self-assessment...

Postgraduate emergency nursing studies strengthen the emergency nursing workforce and contribute to specialist patient care. Formative and summative assessments in postgraduate study are important for student learning as they enable self-reflection and feedback.

To compare formative and summative appraisal assessments between postgraduate emergency nursing students and nurse educators.

Retrospective review of assessments completed by postgraduate student and educator in the final multi-system complex subject of the postgraduate emergency nursing course during 2015. Data were extracted from university records. Data for the two appraisal periods were compared using chisquare test of independence.

Data from 52 emergency nursing students and 16 educators were extracted. Significant differences were detected between most student and educator ratings for both assessment appraisals. The lowest self-ratings of independence for students and educators at the summative assessment were for the provision and coordination of patient care and critical analysis of research evidence. Educators did agree that students were performing independently on domains relating to legal, professional and ethical frameworks.

Postgraduate emergency nursing study is important for the emergency nursing workforce. Examining student learning and educator assessment in this context enables a broader understanding of student learning and transition to emergency nursing speciality practice.