Comparison of Self-evaluation by the Academic Years of Baccalaureate Nursing Students Regarding Community-based Integrated Nursing

Objective: To have nursing students of A University self-evaluate their understanding of nursing activities focused on community living, and to compare results by academic year. Method: A group administered questionnaire was conducted on a total of 237 nursing students. Students were in either their first, second or third year of school. The questionnaire contained 27 items including understanding and practice of nursing activities focused on community living. Responses to each item were scored as follows: “cannot understand/cannot perform,”1 point; “understands/can perform only insufficiently,”2 points; “understands/can perform fairly well,”3 points; “understands/can perform well,”4 points. The mean scores for each item per each school year were calculated, and the results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and multiple comparison (p< 0.05). Result: The number of valid responses to the questionnaire was 211 (valid response rate: 97.2%). The depth of understanding was within the score range of 3 for all items among the second- and third-year students; among the first-year students, however, the number of items that fell in this score range was significantly lower, at 7. The second- and third-year students showed significantly higher scores than the first-year students for 10 items. The degree of practice achieved fell within the score range of 3 for 10 items among the third-year students; among the first- and second-year students, the degree of practice achieved fell within the score range of 2 for all items; there were no items for which the score was 3 or higher. The scores obtained by the third-year students were higher than those obtained by the first-year students for all items, and also higher than those obtained by the second-year students for 9 items. Conclusion: Two years have passed since the start of nursing education reform. We believe the effects of educational reform have begun to materialize.