Structured clinical preparation time for culturally diverse baccalaureate nursing students.

In 1987, the City College School of Nursing revised its curriculum. One of the changes in a course entitled "Health Care of Adult II" was to alter its instruction methods in the clinical setting. A standardized form of clinical preparation and assignment, with emphasis on the elements of the nursing process, replaced the previous time and method of assigning student tasks, which had varied from instructor to instructor. This change in instruction methods stresses that clinical preparation must be guided and overseen by the instructor in order to reach maximum effectiveness as a tool for teaching. To evaluate the effectiveness of the structured clinical preparation time, a questionnaire was administered to the first two groups of students enrolled in "Health Care of Adult II" who were exposed to this new approach of clinical preparation. A total of 61 students participated in the survey. On a five-point Likert scale, the respondents were asked to rate six statements. Possible responses ranged from strong agreement to strong disagreement. The majority of the respondents agreed that the structured clinical preparation time helped them to: improve their skills in collecting relevant data and in formulating nursing diagnoses; develop and implement a client care plan based on a priority nursing diagnosis; and become more familiar with the equipment to perform psychomotor skills safely. The results also indicate that the structured clinical preparation time helped to diminish students' anxiety in going to the clinical setting and that the time allotted for preparation was sufficient.