The purpose of this descriptive study was to obtain student feedback on a newly designed class assignment in a graduate nursing course. The research questions were:
- How well did ILPA assist graduate nursing students in developing critical thinking and innovation skills?
- How well did ILPA assist graduate nursing students in ethical decision-making and problem solving?
- How well did ILPA assist graduate nursing students in developing their “soft” leadership skills?
- How well did ILPA assist graduate nursing students in learning about innovation and business concepts relevant to their current and future practice?
Methods
This cross-sectional descriptive study used a 14-item online survey administered via Qualtrics after students have completed ILPA. The Institutional Review Board at the researchers’ university approved the study.
Sample
Students from three sections of OSU College of Nursing’s N7403 Innovation Leadership in Advanced Nursing Practice were invited to participate in the Qualtrics survey via class announcements in Canvas and email
Measurement/Instrumentation
The co-investigators developed the short survey displayed in Appendix A to obtain student responses to ILPA. No validity or reliability data was available for this new instrument.
Qualtrics Survey Software was used to design an online survey. Qualtrics Survey is a hosted solution supported centrally at OSU by OCIO giving administrators total control over the survey environment. Only OSU authenticated users can log in to create surveys or view the responses. Additionally, the users can be assigned to roles so users can be authenticated for viewing or modifying survey questions or viewing the responses. The Qualtrics system is secure and HIPAA/FERPA compliant approved.
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics (e.g., mean and standard deviation for continuous variables and frequency and percentage for categorical variables) were our main analytic strategy to summarize sample characteristics and the distribution of the responses to each of the five point Likert scale survey questions. We used bivariate tests (e.g., correlation coefficient and row mean score difference test) to examine the association between survey responses and subject characteristics. Mean plots and bar charts will used to visually illustrate the study results. Cronbach’s alpha will be used to test the reliability of the instrument.