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Background: Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are used in competency-based clinical assessment. Problem: Faculty in a Family Nurse Practitioner program aimed to improve their clinical assessment tool to more effectively measure students' clinical performance, outline expectations, track progress, and document evidence related to clinical competence. Approach: EPAs that aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials and National Organization of Nurse Practitioner (NP) Faculties Core NP Competencies were integrated into a clinical assessment tool. Student performance expectations at different points in the program were outlined. Students documented each time they performed an EPA during clinical experiences. Outcome: The EPA-based clinical assessment tool captured valuable information about student performance during clinical experiences and contributed to evidence related to competencies. Conclusions: EPAs can be used to assess clinical performance and document evidence of competence and readiness for practice. Tracking the frequency of EPA performance was essential to ensure students had sufficient practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine Newly Qualified General Nurses' (NQGNs’) experiences of and the value of the internship period. Background: Internship was introduced as the final part of the undergraduate nursing degree in Ireland in 2002. The aim was to provide students with clinical experience, whereby they work more independently and in doing so, seamlessly progress their transition to the role of registered nurse. Design: A cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive study. Setting and Participants: Newly Qualified General Nurses who completed their undergraduate degree in general nursing and graduated from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Republic of Ireland between 2018 and 2020 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Methods: Participants were recruited using snowball sampling. Data were collected anonymously using the electronic Experience of Internship Questionnaire. Analysis was undertaken using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 27). Results: Pre-internship preparation experiences differed across hospitals. The NQGNs would have preferred more support with their caseloads and help with understanding the rationale for care delivery. However, internship provided good opportunities to link theory to practice and was considered valuable by most in preparing them for practicing as a registered nurse. Conclusion: Internship assists intern nursing students to link theory to practice. Further, support in internship is crucial when managing a caseload and to enhance understanding of the care provided. The value of internship was identified with suggestions on ways to strengthen the experience of internship.

The nursing shortage is apparent again after nearly five decades of having a stable workforce. One novel development is that new Registered Nurses (RNs) are exiting their careers too early. Many of them leave the profession for multiple reasons such as burnout and family obligations, yet one reason has emerged – lack of readiness for practice, that also drives the RNs to leave the profession. The purpose of this study was twofold — (1) to investigate the relationship between students' characteristics, their Generalized Self-Efficacy (GSE), Perceived Faculty Support (PFS), the Assessment Technologies, Inc. (ATI) Comprehensive Predictor RN Exam scores and their self-report of readiness for practice and (2) to examine which variables best explains the students' readiness for practice. A cross-sectional descriptive correlational research design with convenience sampling was utilized. Descriptive statistics were obtained to investigate the students' socio-demographic data. The Pearson r and multiple regression were used to analyze the relationships and influence between dependent variables Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice scale (CFRPS) and independent variables, students' characteristics, GSE, PFS, and ATI scores. One hundred forty-three (143) out of 416 students in five baccalaureate schools from the western region of the United States participated in the survey. Findings showed GSE and PFS had significant positive correlations with students' readiness for practice. Further, factors of CFRPS in learning strategies, problem-solving, resourcefulness, and team player are best explained by GSE and PFS, accounting for 91 % of the variance. Students' GSE and PFS can contribute to their readiness for practice. Nurse educators must employ strategies that will bolster students' preparedness by improving their sense of self-efficacy and showing them the utmost faculty support. • There is significant correlation between students' general self-efficacy and perceived faculty support and their practice readiness. • The students' sense of general self-efficacy and perceived faculty support best explains students' readiness for practice. • Students who acknowledged their challenges with certain skills have positive ATI scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of interprofessional practice experiences in health professions programs is to develop interprofessional collaborative practice skills. The purpose of the study was to explore the meaning final-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing students attributed to interprofessional practice experiences during clinical immersion. The theoretical framework for this descriptive qualitative study was experiential learning theory. A sample of 12 participants was drawn from final-semester prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at a college of nursing at a public research university. Data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews and analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. The analysis yielded four themes: professional and interprofessional identity, working with team members, communication practices, and trusting relationships. Patterns across themes were clinical environment culture, nursing school preparation, nurse preceptor role, fear/concern/worry, and night shift. Consistency in preceptors, welcoming clinical environments, and opportunities to practice communicating with team members contributed to interprofessional collaborative practice skill development and improved perceptions of readiness for practice. Academic and clinical educators may use findings to (a) identify immersion placements for interprofessional practice experiences, (b) design curricula reflective of interprofessional practice, (c) advance teaching strategies to promote interprofessional practice, and (d) create learning environments that aid in professional and interprofessional identity formation. • Clinical immersion experiences promote interprofessional practice skill development. • Interprofessional practice experiences improve perceptions of practice readiness. • Team members contribute to professional/interprofessional identity formation. • Clinical culture/shift impacts learning and interprofessional practice opportunities. • Trusting relationships with preceptors and team members impact learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The healthcare sector's complexity requires competent nursing graduate leaders who can effectively lead upon entering their first workplace. Despite studies hinting at a link between leadership competency and nursing students’ readiness for practice, a direct correlation hasn't been fully explored. Aim: This study aims to examine leadership competencies among nursing graduates of Jordanian colleges and their readiness for practice, including the correlation between these variables. Design: A quantitative correlational method was employed, utilizing a 40-item questionnaire for leadership competency and the 22-item Casey-Fink survey for assessing graduates' readiness for practice. A convenience sample of 268 clinical nurse leaders (CNLs) supervising new graduates was selected. Results: The analysis, revealed a moderate presence of leadership competencies and readiness for practice. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated a strong positive relationship between graduates' leadership competencies and their readiness for practice. Conclusions: The study highlights the need to integrate nursing leadership skills into the curriculum and suggests early engagement with nursing bodies to enhance leadership and workplace readiness. It emphasizes a strategic educational approach to align academic and practical competencies in nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM The study aim was to identify and explore relationships among cognitive and noncognitive factors that may contribute to prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students’ academic success across their program of study. BACKGROUND Nurse educators are challenged to improve students’ academic success. With limited evidence, cognitive and noncognitive factors have been identified in the literature as potential factors that influence academic success and may support students’ readiness for practice as new graduate nurses. METHOD Data sets from 1,937 BSN students at multiple campuses were analyzed using an exploratory design and structural equation modeling. CONCLUSION Six factors were conceptualized as contributing equally to the initial cognitive model. The final noncognitive model, with deletion of two factors, yielded the best fit for the four-factor model. Cognitive and noncognitive factors were not significantly correlated. This study provides a beginning understanding of cognitive and noncognitive factors associated with academic success that may support readiness for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses' turnover intention has garnered significant global attention due to the shortage of the nursing workforce. New graduate nurses encounter challenges as they transition from students to professional nurses. Many new graduate nurses have experienced transition shock, which impacts their turnover intention. Researchers show that undergraduate readiness for practice is linked to transition shock and turnover intention, but there is a lack of longitudinal studies investigating their associations and causality. To explore the longitudinal factors affecting turnover intention among new graduate nurses, as well as the mediating role of transition shock in the relationship between readiness for practice and turnover intention. A retrospective longitudinal design. This study was conducted in 54 nursing schools in South Korea. A total of 232 new graduate nurses who participated in the New Nurse e-Cohort Panel Study as students and have continued working at the same hospital since graduation were included. Surveys were conducted during three periods: two months before graduation (T0), six months after graduation (T1), and one year after graduation (T2). Hayes' PROCESS macro Model 4 was utilized to analyze the mediating effect of transition shock (T1) on the relationship between readiness for practice (T0) and turnover intention (T2) among new graduate nurses. Readiness for practice (β = −0.140, p = 0.028) and transition shock (β = 0.259, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with turnover intention. Transition shock acted as a mediator between readiness for practice and turnover intention (β = −0.165, 95 % confidence interval −0.311 to −0.051) among new graduate nurses after controlling for work experience, working in desired units, and completion of internship before nursing school graduation. This study explored the causal relationships among readiness for practice, transition shock, and turnover intention of new graduate nurses. The findings suggest that higher readiness for practice decreases transition shock and influences the intention to leave. To retain a valuable nursing workforce, nursing schools should strive to create a supportive learning environment that prepares students with a high level of readiness for practice. Additionally, hospitals' nursing managers and administrators should implement a structured adaptation program for new graduate nurses to facilitate a smooth transition into the profession. • Readiness for practice during student days influences turnover intention after becoming nurses. • Transition shock mediates the relationship between readiness for practice and turnover intention. • Collaboration between nursing schools and clinical institutions is crucial for retaining new graduate nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telehealth is a way for clinicians to deliver care and for patients to access care via the internet. This method of health care delivery has become an expectation of nurse practitioner practice. Rapid-cycle deliberate practice (RCDP) is a technique grounded in cognitive load theory used to teach a sequence of predetermined skills to learners through purposeful skill augmentation and strategic repetition. Throughout the process, students receive feedback based on well-defined objectives. Material is processed from working memory into long-term memory in small portions with the intent to prevent working memory overload. Advanced practice physical assessment in-person simulation laboratory sessions were framed and focused using the RCDP model. In-person sessions were followed by telehealth simulations for the skill area. Both the in-person laboratory and online telehealth visits followed a similar framework: isolate the skill, baseline knowledge, measurable objectives, practice expectations, and evaluation. Leveled telehealth competencies and domain descriptors were used as a guide for the telehealth sessions. Using the RCDP model to facilitate student translation of physical assessment skills from an in-person venue to the telehealth care environment yielded encouraging potential to isolate and evaluate specific skills, address measurable objectives, and identify behaviors that encompass multiple competencies, developmental milestones, and levels of proficiency. The RCDP telehealth simulations showed promise in the education of nurse practitioner students to accomplish key telehealth health assessment behaviors and progression toward readiness for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic negatively impacted nursing students' opportunity to gain experience through clinical placement, potentially threatening their readiness for practice and their clinical competence. The aim of this study was to explore whether and to what extent the thirdyear undergraduate nursing students perceived that their readiness for practice was impacted by changes to clinical placement and classroom learning implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Study design. Cross-sectional study. Methods. The study was conducted in a university of North-western Italy that provides nursing education across five sites. All sites stopped in-person classroom learning at the beginning of March 2020, but each site was free to decide whether to continue in-person clinical placement based on the local epidemiological situation. All 228 third-year nursing students who completed their degree by June 2020 were invited to participate. Data were collected via online questionnaire, which included the question "What impact do you think that COVID-19 safety measures employed by your nursing programme had on your readiness for practice?" Answers were given on a 5-point Likert scale (none, minimal, moderate, major, and severe). Explanatory variables were collected at the individual, nursing programme, and university site levels. Results. A total of 126 (response rate 55.3%) nursing students completed the questionnaire. Overall, 84 (66.7%) perceived that COVID-19 safety measures had a moderate to severe impact on their readiness for practice. These students often had lower grade point averages (p=0.037) and received no clinical placement during the pandemic (72.6% vs 90.5% of students who reported no or minimal impact, p=0.022). Average duration of third-year clinical placement was also lower among these students, though it was not statistically significant. No differences emerged at the university site level. Conclusions. Despite important advances in technology-based educational activities, clinical placement remains the best educational strategy to allow nursing students to feel prepared to work effectively during a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine Newly Qualified General Nurses' (NQGNs') experiences of and the value of the internship period., Background: Internship was introduced as the final part of the undergraduate nursing degree in Ireland in 2002. The aim was to provide students with clinical experience, whereby they work more independently and in doing so, seamlessly progress their transition to the role of registered nurse., Design: A cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive study., Setting and Participants: Newly Qualified General Nurses who completed their undergraduate degree in general nursing and graduated from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Republic of Ireland between 2018 and 2020 were eligible for inclusion in the study., Methods: Participants were recruited using snowball sampling. Data were collected anonymously using the electronic Experience of Internship Questionnaire. Analysis was undertaken using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 27)., Results: Pre-internship preparation experiences differed across hospitals. The NQGNs would have preferred more support with their caseloads and help with understanding the rationale for care delivery. However, internship provided good opportunities to link theory to practice and was considered valuable by most in preparing them for practicing as a registered nurse., Conclusion: Internship assists intern nursing students to link theory to practice. Further, support in internship is crucial when managing a caseload and to enhance understanding of the care provided. The value of internship was identified with suggestions on ways to strengthen the experience of internship., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

To examine the readiness of new graduate nurses for practice and evaluate factors influencing their transition into the workplace. This is new research in Bahrain. Understanding readiness for practice is important during a time when there is a national initiative to promote nursing as a career among the indigenous Bahraini population. The worldwide nursing shortages and aging workforce require new and innovative recruitment and retention measures. There is change, increased demand and complexity, in nursing and healthcare needs with accompanying healthcare specialization. In such a health care environment, the transitioning and readiness of newly qualified nurses is an increasing challenge. A longitudinal design, with a triangulated, mixed methods, research approach was used. The study population consisted of 50 newly graduated nurses. Data were collected over one year through self-administered questionnaires, reflective diaries and focus groups. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and qualitative data using thematic analysis with adherence to GRAMMS reporting guidelines. In Bahrain, there are actions to recruit young Arabic students to nursing including schools and community presentations by trained nurse ambassadors, social media activities and career exhibitions, however there is a lack of objective information on the perspective of cohorts of nurses who have successfully completed graduate nursing registration programmes and transitioned into practice. International literature suggests that the transition of newly graduated nurses can be stressful and challenging. On entry to practice, the respondents positively perceived their characteristics and attributes; however, their confidence was affected by challenges in the workplace. The transitioning of the new graduate nurses was affected by the availability of support and leadership, induction programmes and the new complex work environment. Understanding work readiness and the emotional needs of new graduate nurses, accompanied by improved support, will enhance the transition of newly qualified nurses into the workplace and reduce attrition. KHUH/Research/No.279/2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how social work students perceive they become ready for the workplace during their three-year undergraduate course at two Higher Education Institutions sites in England. The work provides a unique contribution in that to date little is known from the perspective of students themselves, about how they perceive they become ready for the workplace. This study used an integrated mixed methods methodology. Data were gathered from a combination of pre- and post-test questionnaires (N = 74 participants) and eight semi-structured interviews including the use of pictorial images and drawings. Five themes were generated from the semi-structured interviews are: (i) becoming ready and resilient; (ii) feeling shut out; (iii) navigating my placement; (iv) trying to fit things together and (v) having what it takes. Participants described their becoming ready for practice as a developmental journey in which they become more resilient, confident and reflective. The findings suggest satisfaction with the social work course although for some they perceived themselves less prepared for most statutory social work positions. The findings from this study can be used to inform and enhance a creative curriculum to support student confidence and competence by facilitating a supported learning environment offered by practice educators pre registration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduating senior nursing students (GSNS) are expected to be ready for practice (RFP) upon graduation as they enter the workforce. Skills such as assessment, communication, and clinical reasoning are important because of high patient acuity and longer hospital stays. Therefore, nurse educators must provide teaching-learning strategies that enhance RFP for GSNS. Two authentic experiences which provide opportunities to improve clinical reasoning and promote RFP include senior practicum and complex multipatient simulation. • Readiness for practice (RFP) is critical in today's health care environment. • This quasi-experimental study found senior practicum and simulation enhance RFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of 'readiness to practice' of nursing students is not well understood even though being 'ready for practice' is the focus of undergraduate programs. The aim of this study was to critically explore senior student's views about their readiness to practice as a registered nurse. This study was undertaken in a school of nursing in the South Island of New Zealand. The participants included all senior nursing students assigned to their final clinical practicum from five cohorts across two and half years. The response rate for the survey across five cohorts was 46% (n = 245). The majority of students were New Zealand European females aged 30 years or younger. Students felt they were confident with their professional responsibilities and considered that they had prepared well for the profession. They agreed that they were confident with their communication skills. Areas of concern were; caring for a dying patient and caring for more than four patients at one time. This study suggests that senior nursing students feel they are work ready. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. New nurses are often perceived as not meeting expectations for safe nursing practice. Nurse educators need to identify student learning and professional development needs as students progress toward practice. The purpose of the study was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of senior-level nursing students related to readiness for practice before graduation. Using a descriptive, exploratory design, nurse preceptors evaluated the degree to which their assigned senior nursing student was meeting expectations for readiness for nursing practice. Survey items were organized into affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domains and general readiness. This evaluation occurred at the beginning of the final practicum to assess student progress toward readiness for practice. Students scored highest in professional attributes but lowest in time management, prioritization, management of multiple patients, and pharmacology knowledge. Results can be used to inform teaching strategies, strengthen academic-clinical partnerships, and promote readiness for entry-level practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northeast Team of the Ohio Action Coalition, composed of regional clinical and academic educators, identified a potential barrier for nurses pursuing a baccalaureate degree. Duplication of health assessment content was identified for some associate degree graduates enrolled in RN-BSN programs, thereby adding extra time and cost for attaining the baccalaureate degree. In response, the Northeast Team of the Ohio Action Coalition developed an assessment competency evaluation that, if successfully passed, would grant credit for the health assessment course. The assessment competency evaluation provided the opportunity for students to demonstrate competency in both health assessment and clinical judgment skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to translate and adapt the Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice Scale (CFRPS) into Turkish and assess its validity and reliability for senior nursing students. Nursing students' readiness for practice is important for quality nursing care and to support new graduate nurses and orient them quickly for their professional life. Nurse educators and nurse managers are responsible for develop nursing students' and new graduate nurses' readiness for practice. Currently, there is no valid and reliable tool to assess this metric for senior nursing students in Turkey. The study was conducted using a methodological approach. The sample of the study consisted of 179 students who were enrolled in the last year of nursing school across three state universities in one region of Turkey. A socio-demographic form and the Turkish version of the CFRPS were used for data collection. Data were collected online between 12 April – 17 May 2021. Content validity was assessed using expert approval. Confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to assess validity. Cronbach's alpha and test–retest were performed to assess reliability. Nursing students' mean age was found to be 22.3 ± 1.12. The content validity index of the scale was calculated as 0.94. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis identified 15 items, which could be categorized under one factor, that were obtained differently from the original scale. The factor loads were found to be between 0.39 and 0.70. The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.881. One factor model achieved a good fit. The study demonstrated that the Turkish version of the CFRPS is a valid and reliable assessment tool to evaluate senior nursing students' readiness for practice. Information in the Turkish version of the CFRPS was obtained differently from the original scale. Nurse educators can use this tool to assess their students' progress in readiness for practice before they graduate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing students in the learning process will get in the classical learning and clinical practice. In switching between classical learning into clinical practice it needs for preparations and competency test before entering the practice field. One method of developing competency test in nursing is the OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination). The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the OSCE method on the readiness for practice in the S1 study program of STIKes Kepanjen. This research uses quantitative methods with the quasi experimental design and pretest posttest design with control group approach. The competency of the intervention group is assessed by using OSCE method and the control group by using conventional methods. This study compares the students’ readiness and student’s learning motivation on the pretest and on the posttest after respondents do the clinical practice. The data obtained were analyzed using t test with significance of ρ

Little is known about newly qualified social worker (NQSW) experiences of education, employment and training in Scotland. This article reports on findings from a national online survey (n = 205) conducted with NQSWs during their first year of employment. The study presented here was commissioned by the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC) as part of a wider strategic review of social work education. This study used a mixed-methods design, and the results were analysed using quantitative and qualitative software. Findings indicate that the majority of NQSWs feel well prepared by social work education, but less supported by employers in terms of opportunities for continuous professional development. Experiences of good-quality induction, supervision and opportunities for professional development demonstrate mixed results across Scotland. This study has important implications for the forthcoming review of social work education in Scotland and builds on research from England and Wales. It provides empirical clarity on what NQSWs know, value and understand about their professional role and tasks. These Scottish findings run contrary to wider UK concerns that NQSWs are inadequately prepared for the challenge of child-care social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching is often a solitary endeavor, but teaching with others can enrich the educational experiences of faculty and social work students alike. This teaching note is a call to action for all social work educators to focus on the underlying tenets of the team- teaching environment as a mechanism for enriching the social work educational environment. Role modeling and educating students about team collaboration is an essential component of readiness for practice. This teaching note provides real world strategies for creating and enhancing the team-teaching environment in social work learning spaces that include the classroom and field placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing students' first clinical placement experience can be a critical turning point -reinforcing professional aspirations for some, and for others, a time of emotional turbulence. There is a paucity of research focusing on students' perceptions and concerns prior to their first placement experience. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the concerns of first year bachelor of nursing students from one Australian university as they prepared for their first clinical placement. Participants completed an online 'readiness for practice' survey consisting of 22 items. This paper focuses on participants' responses to the one open ended question: 'Please comment on any concerns that you have in relation to being prepared for your first clinical placement'. Summative qualitative content analysis was used for analysis. 144 students (55%) responded to the open ended question. Responses were categorised into six themes including: Not prepared for placement; feeling nervous, anxious and worried; bullying and belonging; practicalities; patient safety and making mistakes; and working outside of my scope of practice. It appears that activities designed to equip students with the capacity to manage the inherent challenges of undertaking a clinical placement may sometimes have a paradoxical effect by increasing students' level of stress and anxiety. An enhanced understanding of students' concerns may help educators implement appropriate support strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the requirements of the curriculum of the new BA Social Work is that students shadow the work of practitioners before they undertake supervised practice. Shadowing provides an opportunity to observe social workers in different agencies and to learn from the experience of being in the observer role. This article focuses on the observational learning which is part of the shadowing experience. It discusses an observation curriculum designed for a new student group at an early stage in the programme. Using feedback from student assessments on the Sussex/Brighton BA, the course structure and learning outcomes are described and analysed. From initial evaluations it is argued that observation in shadowing provides an important introduction to key aspects of professional learning such as anti‐oppressive practice and communication skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Readiness for practice (RFP) is essential as new nurses will practice in a nursing shortage climate, with high acuity patients and complex technology. Nurse educators are challenged to foster readiness for practice. The aim of this integrative review was to explore the impact of simulation and senior practicum on graduating senior nursing students' readiness for practice. Readiness for practice has been a point of concern for healthcare for quite some time. This has led to a need for better understanding for what RFP means including their perceptions of various stakeholders. Further, it is important to address what teaching and learning strategies can be implemented to assist in ensuring the graduating senior nursing student is ready for practice on graduation and for their first professional practice. Readiness for practice is defined as the ability to safely and competently care for patients by synthesizing theory, skills, attitudes and values in applying clinical reasoning in practice settings. An integrative review identified 48 published papers on simulation and senior practicum that met the inclusion criteria. Themes identified from the senior practicum/preceptor literature included clinical reasoning, skills, barriers to the senior practicum and transition. Themes identified regarding simulation as a strategy included preparation, competence development, clinical reasoning and the number of human patient simulators used. Although the evidence is not conclusive, simulation and senior practicums have the promise of preparing graduating nursing students for their first professional practice. However, nurse educators must ensure simulations are well-organized with clear objectives and that preceptors are supported in teaching and assessing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]