NERI Award Recipients
The Nursing Education Research Initiative (NERI) award was given to 2 group recipients for the 2023 award year. This research initiative focuses on supporting faculty of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI) in research endeavors focused on rural health nursing education.
RESEARCH PROJECT #1
Title: “Understanding the Outcomes and Experiences of Rural Nursing Students”
Researchers: Cynthia Koomey, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
Meagan Rogers, PhD, RN, MSN, NPD-BC
Description of Project:
As the nursing profession recovers from the effects of a raging pandemic, there is a renewed emphasis on meeting our growing workforce demands by increasing the number of applicants accepted into nursing programs. The availability of highly-educated practitioners continues to be a major barrier to improving healthcare outcomes in rural communities. In recent years, CONHI has made a major strategic investment in the Texas rural workforce by increasing admissions and fostering strong partnerships in rural areas. However, little is known about the educational outcomes and post-graduation employment plans of these students completing clinical experiences in rural areas. Understanding the unique needs of rural nursing students is a key component to strengthening the workforce pipeline.
First-time licensure pass rates are the primary quality indicator for nursing programs, with funding and accreditation implications for schools of nursing with pass rates below 80%. Nursing programs have adopted stringent admission and progression criteria based on known predictors of licensure success. However, there is a gap in the current body of evidence associated with predictors of NCLEX failure and the unique needs of rural nursing students. The purpose of this research study is to develop a logistic regression model that predicts NCLEX failure to guide nursing program policy and intervention for at-risk nursing students, with specific variables and outcomes measures related to rural nursing students.
Project’s Importance:
Understanding NCLEX failure and the unique experiences of nursing students in rural areas is a critical first step to ensuring nursing programs can supply a robust pipeline of nurses into the profession. However, there is a gap in the current literature related to the experiences of rural nursing students and predictors of NCLEX failure since nationwide failures rates are only 15% and most schools don’t have a sample size large enough to study this phenomenon. Continuing to increase admissions in rural areas without the resources to ensure these students can be successful is counter-productive. This project addresses barriers to meeting workforce demands with a specific emphasis on graduate nurses in rural areas.
RESEARCH PROJECT #2
Title: “Modified Medication Administration Safety Assessment Tool (Modified MASAT) – an updated tool to reflect evidence-based safety practices when validating student nurse competency in simulated medication administration.”
Researchers: Katherine A. Kreis, MSN, RN, CHSE
Description of Project:
An estimated 7,000 and 9,000 deaths related to medication errors (ME) occur each year in the United States (Tariq et al., 2022). Additionally, the economic impact is estimated at $42 billion USD annually (Donaldson et al., 2017). Imparting consistent safety processes for medication administration to student nurses, and evaluating their performance with a standardized measure, is an integral part of nursing education (Sears et al., 2010). In a review by Sulosaari et al. (2012), the authors described the significant difficulty that nursing students and initial licensure nurses have with the complex processes of med admin and presumed a connection to this leading to higher incidence of ME in hospitalized patients. To standardize a measure for med admin performance, Goodstone and Goodstone (2013) developed a set of metrics to use in simulation-based experience (SBE) known as the Medication Administration Safety Assessment Tool (MASAT). The prevalence of ME and resultant deaths make it vital to evaluate learners on the specific tasks of med admin. Research has shown that up to 80% of senior nursing students were unable to successfully perform med admin without error (Schneidereith, 2021).
Project’s Importance: A modification of the MASAT to include these safety steps is necessary for current nursing educational practice and research in both the urban and rural settings where nursing education is provided.