A National Report on Clinical Judgment Model Use in Prelicensure Nursing Curricula

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Judgment Development

Background:

• Increasing emphasis on clinical judgment in nursing education.
• Upcoming changes in NCLEX-RN testing drive interest in clinical judgment models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the utilization of clinical judgment models and teaching strategies in US prelicensure nursing programs.
• To understand how these models are employed to foster students' clinical judgment.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey design was employed.
• The survey included multiple-choice and open-ended questions to gather data on model usage.

Main Results:

• Only 27% of surveyed programs currently use a clinical judgment model, with 51% planning to adopt one.
• Tanner's clinical judgment model and the clinical reasoning cycle are the most frequently used models.
• Models are utilized to guide the development of teaching strategies and to support clinical teaching and evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Adoption of clinical judgment models is likely to increase among nursing programs preparing for NCLEX-RN exam changes.
• Further research is necessary to determine the impact of clinical judgment models on students' measurable clinical judgment skills.