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Aim: To examine the diagnostic reasoning skills of two nurse practitioner student cohorts. Introduction: Nurse practitioners continue to play a pivotal role in health care provision. Diagnostic reasoning is a core skill of advanced practice. A comparative diagnostic reasoning study between two student cohorts was undertaken between 2018 and 2019. Methods: A validated diagnostic reasoning scale was completed by nurse practitioner students in the United Kingdom and the United States of America at the beginning and end of their clinical placements. The study utilized descriptive quantitative statistics from the data submitted by 22 survey respondents from an online survey. Results: Analysis of the diagnostic reasoning skills suggested there was a difference in the structural memory scores when compared with the beginning of their clinical placements and the final semester of their clinical placements. Conclusion: Diagnostic reasoning skills are a core skill of advanced practice. As students progress through their training, these skills improve. Despite the statistical difference in diagnostic reasoning scores, caution should be made in determining any larger implications due to the small number of participants in this study. Further study is needed in this area. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Diagnostic reasoning is a core skill for nurse practitioners.There is minimal research in this area.Diagnostic accuracy is vital for ensuring patient safety. What this paper adds? Structural memory scores improved at the end of nurse practitioner clinical placements. What are the implications of this paper for policy/practice/research/education? Further global research in the field of diagnostic reasoning for nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students is needed to validate these findings.It is important to ensure nurse practitioners have competency in diagnostic reasoning to reduce diagnostic error.Curricula could be designed to incorporate the use of the DTI to evaluate a student's progress throughout the clinical portion of the nurse practitioner programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This article reports on a study which examined the predictive relationship between emotional intelligence and the following programme outcomes for student nurses: clinical practice performance; academic performance and retention. Background In the context of concerns about a lack of compassionate care and amid calls for values-based selection procedures, emotional intelligence is emerging as a potential factor which might help the nursing profession to address some of these concerns. Design The study employed a longitudinal survey. Methods Student nurse applicants ( n = 307) were asked to complete self-report scales to establish a total score and four subscores for emotional intelligence and these scores were matched to individual student's performance on the undergraduate programme. The scales were completed between June-September 2007 and performance data were collected up until January 2009. Results A significant predictive relationship was found between emotional intelligence and all three programme outcomes: practice performance; academic performance and retention, after controlling for prior academic achievement, age and gender. There was a zero Pearson correlation between prior academic attainment and overall emotional intelligence, indicating that both predict different outcomes. Conclusions Recruitment and selection procedures should consider emotional intelligence as a legitimate additional entrance criterion for student nurses and further research is required to examine the potential relationship between emotional intelligence and compassionate care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]