Clinical site assessment tool supporting the quality of nursing student placements
Evaluating a clinical assessment tool to better understand and improve nursing students’ practicum environments
Shawna LeBouthillier and Megan Melton, Centre for Health Care Research & Innovation
About the project
Researchers Shawna LeBouthillier and Megan Melton from Conestoga’s Centre for Health Care Research & Innovation examined the clinical site assessment tool (CSAT), which is designed to evaluate the quality and readiness of clinical practicum environments for nursing students. The research explored how consistently the tool captured the perspectives of students, instructors, and clinical agency staff.
The challenge
Clinical placements are an important part of nursing education, but assessing the quality of these learning environments can be complex. Existing tools often focus primarily on student and instructor perspectives, creating a need for an approach that also incorporates feedback from clinical agencies.
Approach
- Collected feedback from nursing students, instructors, and clinical agency staff at an acute care hospital unit
- Evaluated agreement between different users of the CSAT
- Conducted statistical analyses to assess the tool’s reliability
- Examined student responses to identify concerns within the clinical learning environment
- Consulted on methodological challenges and opportunities to improve future evaluation of the tool
Results
- Identified low agreement between students and instructors using the CSAT
- Identified methodological limitations that may have influenced reliability results
- Highlighted student concerns related to support, racism, and adherence to best practices in clinical environments
- Shared findings with Conestoga’s School of Nursing to inform improvements in clinical education
- Developed a revised methodology for future testing of the assessment tool
Why it matters
- Supports efforts to improve the quality of nursing clinical placements
- Helps ensure student perspectives are considered when evaluating learning environments
- Provides insights that can inform improvements to clinical education
- Establishes a foundation for further development and validation of the CSAT
- Supports high-quality practicum experiences for future nursing students