Thinking Strategies of Baccalaureate Nursing Students Prompted by Self-Regulated Learning Strategies.

The standard in nursing education today is to prepare nurses for future practice through generic programs with a culminating practicum experience. The clinical faculty in this program was interested in evaluating differences in student thinking strategies that occurred as a result of an increase from 60 to 120 clinical hours, coupled with reflec­tive journaling. The Self-Regulated Learning model was used as a conceptual support for the journaling prompts, as well as a structure for narrative analysis. The 120-hour practicum group revealed a greater use of metacognitive self-evaluation strategies versus greater use of behavioral self-monitoring strategies by the 60-hour practicum group. This finding suggests that although self-observation and self-monitoring are important and desired thinking habits to develop in nursing students, an increase to 120 hours is beneficial. It promotes a greater use of self-evaluation of thinking and greater levels of self-efficacy in making deci­sions to solve clinical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]