Example of Research Proposal Background, Problem Statement, research Questions, And Hypotheses Sally I. S.

Stressedout NURS4016 September 25, 2010 Professor T. McParland

Pretending for Real: Simulation as Preparation for Nursing Practice The diminishing clinical spaces available for practice, as well as the lack of qualified faculty to teach the students have been identified as a pressing concern in nursing education (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard & Day, 2010; Hovancsek et al, 2009; Sanford, 2010; Waldner & Olson, 2007). Other problems in clinical education listed by Tanner (2006) include increased patient acuity, inefficient use of the students time, lack of variety, and the opportunity to experience other critical experiences such as the managing crisis situation, working with families or diverse populations. As a response to this decrease in clinical space availability, the use of both lowfidelity and high-fidelity simulation has been introduced as being useful in providing a safe environment to learn critical thinking and clinical judgment skills, psychomotor skills, and in presenting both common and uncommon scenarios for students to have some experience before they graduate (Decker, Sportsman, Puetz & Billings, 2008; Nehring & Lashley, 2004; Mazurek Melnyk, 2008). While this area of nursing education is being regarded with much interest, researchers agree that rigorous research on this technology to support the seemingly positive opinions which currently exist (Lasater, 2007; Sanford). However, while students have reported positive experiences with simulations (Kardong-Edgren, Starkweather, & Ward, 2008), the effect of this teaching methodology on their future practice as a registered nurse has not been examined. Nor has the purported exposure to clinical scenarios via simulation been examined from the post graduate lens to determine if it has impacted the new nurses confidence in their actual clinical practice.

Research Problem, Questions and Hypotheses Research Problem The research problem being investigated is as follows: based on the current research available, it is not known how and to what extent simulation affects future practice of the student in actual practice as a registered nurse after graduation; nor has the impact of simulation on clinical confidence of the student as a graduate nurse been examined. Research Purpose The purpose of this research will be to examine what, if any, impact simulation has on the terminal evaluation methods for Registered Nurses in the United States and Canada. Terminal evaluation of the student occurs via a licensing exam in both countries. American registered nursing students write the NCLEX exams (National Council Licensure Examination), and Canadian registered nursing students write the CRNE (Canadian Registered Nurse Examination). Additionally, graduate registered nurses perceptions of the effect of simulation on their confidence in clinical practice will be elicited. Research Questions The following research questions will be answered through this research project: 1. Is there any correlation between hours in simulation, hours in actual clinical experience and success on the National Council Licensing Exams (NCLEX) and Canadian Registered Nurse Examination (CRNE)? 2. What, if any, effect does simulations have on the confidence of nursing students as registered nurses? Hypotheses There are two hypotheses for the questions being asked in this research:

1. There is a negative correlation between the amounts of time a student spends in simulation (as opposed to actual clinical practice) in nursing education, in that the more hours of simulation, the lower the scores on the final examinations. 2. The confidence of the new graduate nurse will be positively impacted by the use of simulation in their final year of undergraduate study. The null hypotheses for the study are as follows: 1) There is no significant relationship between the number of hours spent in simulation in nursing education and final examination scores of student nurses on their licensing examinations. 2) New graduates do not report any change in their confidence levels as a result of simulation use in their undergraduate education.

References As per APA 6th ed.