Learning from Nursing Placements:
A Longitudinal Study of the Influence of Nursing Placements on Achievement Goals and Professional Self-Concept

Abstract

This research aims to understand how the experience of placement influences nursing students’ self-concept and their achievement goals. The relevant literature suggests that the current shortage of nurses is a consequence of low professional self-concept, which is also related to how nursing students’ achievement goals alter before and after clinical learning settings. Research to date has yet to examine how the experience of placement influences nursing students’ self-concept and their achievement goals. Applying quantitative data analysis, this thesis addresses how first-time nursing placement influences nursing self-concept and achievement goals as well as the relation between achievement goals and students relationship with staff. 276 Taiwanese nursing students completed two questionnaires, Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ) and Nurses’ Self-Concept Questionnaire (NSCQ) at 3 different time points over a period of 7 months.
The results suggest as follows. First, students had higher self-concept of staff relations after placements, though no other self-concepts increased. Because of this result, the current thesis will specifically discuss nursing students’ confidence development on staff relations. Second, mastery approach goal reduced after placements and performance goal remained stable. Third, a moderate positive correlation between mastery approach goal and staff relation was found in the group who stayed in classroom, while such correlation was very weak in the group who attended placements during this research.
Given the literature has demonstrated anxiety and fear of failure are students’ common challenges during placements, this research supports that the participants’ anxiety and feeling of incompetence diminished their desire to mastery nursing. Additionally, the findings appear coherent in terms of students’ progress during the placement. The nature of clinical placements is performance oriented; however, in the current experiment, students’ confidence in nursing skills and knowledge did not change. This result indicated students’ perceived competence did not alter because of the placement; their performance goals therefore remained unchanged. Furthermore, the incline of the confidence in staff relations after placement suggests nursing students understood they needed to bond with staff before learning to be a nurse. Such result is in line with the literature that novice is aware of the importance of being accepted by the team because being accepted is a prerequisite for learning. Despite empirical studies noted that mastery goal has positive correlation with interpersonal relation but the third finding pinpointed that in addition to mastery goal whether or not the individual has found sense of belonging in the group should be taken into account when examining how achievement goals influence interpersonal behaviours.