Abstract:
ABSTRACT
FACULTY PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF VARIED SHIFT
LENGTHS FOR NURSING STUDENT CLINICAL
ROTATIONS
by
Jaime A Hannans
Master of Science in Nursing
California State University, Chico
Spring 2010
Nursing shortages will greatly impact the United States health care system if
solutions are not found to increase the number of new nurses able to enter the profession.
Clinical site availability is one limiting factor in the growth of nursing programs.
Alternatives to improve access to varied clinical shifts and to improve clinical site
availability should be evaluated in order to find ways to increase the number of clinical
slots for students. The first step to determine potential new strategies in clinical site
utilization is to examine what current nursing programs are doing to facilitate clinical
placements for nursing students.
It is identified that nursing programs have challenges in both scheduling and
staffing clinical rotations. Using the seven-step change theory developed by Ronald
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Lippitt, Jeanne Watson, and Bruce Westley in 1958, this study attempts to further examine
and understand the challenges in both scheduling and staffing clinical rotations
for nursing programs. Evaluating faculty perceptions of current practice in nursing programs
and past experiences as nurse educators assesses the motivation for, capacity for,
and need for changes in clinical practices.
This research study surveyed nursing faculty from nursing programs
throughout California (n=7). Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to
evaluate the results of an online web survey distributed via convenience sampling to
current nursing faculty of these programs. Questions evaluated nursing faculty perceptions
about their experiences of varied clinical shift types and durations, and strategies
implemented to manage clinical placement difficulties.
The findings from this study indicate faculty perceives 8-hour shifts to be
most effective for clinical rotations. Perceived benefits and disadvantages of different
clinical shift lengths are varied, but all shift length types (4-hour, 6-hour, 8-hour, and
12-hour) appear to have both benefits and disadvantages. Nursing programs utilize a
variety of clinical shift types and durations that maximize the use of clinical facilities
and allows faculty flexibility. Further study using a larger sample is suggested to examine
the potential benefits from this research. Additional research on clinical rotations
from a variety of perspectives is suggested to gain a broader picture of how to combat
the limitations on nursing program growth.
