Date of Award
Summer 2025
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
College of Nursing
First Advisor
Cynthia Corbett
Abstract
The healthcare system faces a critical nursing shortage, driven by workforce turnover, an aging population, and the rise of chronic health conditions. A key concern is the readiness of new graduate nurses to enter practice with the necessary competencies. Educating new nurses to replace retiring staff is challenging, particularly in meeting clinical placement and diverse learning needs. Practicing nurses, who must mentor students while managing patient care, struggle to balance these responsibilities.
Belongingness is a fundamental human need that influences learning, and nursing students often report feelings of alienation and neglect during clinical placements. Student alienation can reduce motivation, increase stress and anxiety, hinder their abilities to practice clinical skills, all of which negatively impact clinical learning and readiness for professional nursing practice.
To better understand this issue, we conducted a scoping review of existing literature on belongingness related to practice readiness. Following the review, we developed a hypothesized model based on Bandura's social cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory. We then conducted a quantitative study involving 251 senior nursing students from across the United States (US), surveying their perceptions of belongingness, self-efficacy, clinical learning support, and readiness for professional nursing practice to test the model assumptions.
In Chapter 3, we investigated the impact of demographic, programmatic, and clinical practicum factors on students' belongingness, self-efficacy, clinical learning support, and readiness for professional nursing practice. Key findings highlighted the importance of optimizing clinical hours and managing the number of preceptors assigned to each student to enhance their preparedness for practice. In Chapter 4, we explored the hypothesized relationships between belongingness, self-efficacy, clinical learning support, and readiness for professional nursing practice. Key findings revealed a more complex interplay among these concepts than initially projected. The resulting conceptual model provides a foundation to enhance clinical learning environments and better prepare students for professional practice by offering a deeper understanding of how belongingness, self-efficacy, and clinical learning support, directly and indirectly, influence practice readiness.
Rights
© 2025, Elizabeth M Nease
Recommended Citation
Nease, E. M.(2025). Nursing Student Practice Readiness: A Study of Belongingness, Self-Efficacy and Clinical Learning Support. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8374