Academic and clinical performance among nursing students: What's grit go to do with it?


Journal

Nurse education today
ISSN: 1532-2793
Titre abrégé: Nurse Educ Today
Pays: Scotland
ID NLM: 8511379

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
19 Feb 2020
Historique:
received: 04 09 2019
revised: 20 12 2019
accepted: 15 02 2020
pubmed: 25 2 2020
medline: 25 2 2020
entrez: 25 2 2020
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

Nursing is both a science and an art and requires students to develop sound scientific foundations for artful application. The at times binary nature of how the way in which the knowledge and skills of nursing are delivered in higher education can be difficult for students to comprehend initially and synchronise for practice and can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, withdrawal or failure. Understanding what influences student performance in bachelor level nursing studies is imperative so educators can develop programs that straddle the art and science conundrum and lead to graduate success. Grit is a non-cognitive trait, a drive that keeps an individual on task through difficult circumstances for sustained periods of time. Grit might well represent a key factor in our understanding of why one student succeeds while another withdraws. To examine measures of grit in the context of demographic characteristics of nursing students and their impact on student self-perceived academic and clinical performance. A cross-sectional design. A single School of Nursing at a multi-campus, regional, peri-urban Australian University. All nursing students (n = 2349) studying a three-year bachelor of nursing degree were invited to participate. Data were collected using a questionnaire that included several demographic items, questions relating to the student's perceived level of academic and clinical performance, and the eight-item Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) used to measure trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Students, regardless of their year of study or any other demographic factor, showed grit was the only significant predictor of clinical and academic performance. The strength between grit and perceived performance both academically and clinically, makes grit a valuable factor for development in students as a vehicle for success in nursing programs of study. This paper culminates in suggestions for creative approaches to grit development.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Nursing is both a science and an art and requires students to develop sound scientific foundations for artful application. The at times binary nature of how the way in which the knowledge and skills of nursing are delivered in higher education can be difficult for students to comprehend initially and synchronise for practice and can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, withdrawal or failure. Understanding what influences student performance in bachelor level nursing studies is imperative so educators can develop programs that straddle the art and science conundrum and lead to graduate success. Grit is a non-cognitive trait, a drive that keeps an individual on task through difficult circumstances for sustained periods of time. Grit might well represent a key factor in our understanding of why one student succeeds while another withdraws.
OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVE
To examine measures of grit in the context of demographic characteristics of nursing students and their impact on student self-perceived academic and clinical performance.
DESIGN METHODS
A cross-sectional design.
SETTING METHODS
A single School of Nursing at a multi-campus, regional, peri-urban Australian University.
PARTICIPANTS METHODS
All nursing students (n = 2349) studying a three-year bachelor of nursing degree were invited to participate.
METHODS METHODS
Data were collected using a questionnaire that included several demographic items, questions relating to the student's perceived level of academic and clinical performance, and the eight-item Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) used to measure trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals.
RESULTS RESULTS
Students, regardless of their year of study or any other demographic factor, showed grit was the only significant predictor of clinical and academic performance.
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
The strength between grit and perceived performance both academically and clinically, makes grit a valuable factor for development in students as a vehicle for success in nursing programs of study. This paper culminates in suggestions for creative approaches to grit development.

Identifiants

pubmed: 32092601
pii: S0260-6917(19)31325-5
doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104371
pii:
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

104371

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest There is no conflict of interest identified for this submission.

Auteurs

Daniel Terry (D)

School of Nursing & Healthcare Professions, Federation University, University Drive, Mt Helen, PO Box 663, Ballarat, Victoria 3353, Australia. Electronic address: d.terry@federation.edu.au.

Blake Peck (B)

School of Nursing & Healthcare Professions, Federation University, University Drive, Mt Helen, PO Box 663, Ballarat, Victoria 3353, Australia. Electronic address: b.peck@federation.edu.au.

Classifications MeSH