Quantitative Research Article Critique
Group 8 Members: Consuelo Patterson, Kimberly Miller, Kaylee Rogers, and Emma Lewis
| Criteria | Possible Points | Points Earned | Group Response to Criteria |
| Part I Problem | |||
| Was the origin of the problem clearly stated? | 3 | The origin of the problem was clearly stated in this study. There has been a lack of understanding and implementation on the role of a clinical nurse specialist as an advanced practice nurse, specifically in the air force. Clinical nurse specialists who are deployed for operations, are required to function as staff nurses versus advanced practice nurses which may impact patient outcomes. Research suggests that there are military barriers that prevent Air Force CNS from working under their full scope of practice. Additionally, Air Force CNS do not have an additional specialty code to reflect their APRN status. | |
| Was the purpose of the study stated? | 2 | The purpose of the study is clear throughout the article. This research study was done to determine the impact of a transition-to practice program on job satisfaction among novice clinical nurse specialists(CNSs) in the US Air Force. | |
| Was the population who will benefit from the study identified? | 2 | The beneficiary of this study is clear. Novice clinical nurse specialists in the air force will benefit from the research gathered. This study raises the awareness on the need for transition -to-practice programs for clinical nurse specialists in order to close the gap on role ambiguity of the CNS. | |
| Was the problem significant to nursing? | 3 | This problem is very significant to nursing. This study showed that implementing a transition-to-practice program for novice CNSs can improve job satisfaction in the air force. Other sectors of the military such as the army and navy would also benefit from implementation of such programs. Clinical nurse specialists would be able to articulate their impact on patient-nursing outcomes and develop their role identity as an APRN. | |
| Was the relationship of the problem to previous research clear? | 3 | The relationship of the problem to previous research is clear. This article discussed how there is a lack of quality studies within the literature on clinical nurse specialist competency- based orientation with transition to advanced practice. Additionally, it is vital to have quality mentorship during orientation and to have a distinction between staff nurse orientation and advanced practice orientation for novice clinical nurse specialists. | |
| What were the variables under study? | 3 | The independent variable for this study was taking the Transition-to-Practice Program (that specifically because it focused on the low scoring CNS core competencies. Without the program, there would not have been an improved CNS satisfaction score)
The dependent variable within this study was overall job satisfaction (among Novice CNS).
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| What is the research question or hypothesis(es)?—even if not formally addressed in the study | 2 | The research question addressed in this study was, Will the implementation of a transition-to-practice program improve job satisfaction among newly graduated Air Force CNSs? | |
| Part II Theory and Review of the Literature | |||
| Was a theoretical framework identified? If so, what was it? | 4 | There was a theoretical framework centered around this study. This theoretical framework was Benner’s from novice to expert model. See page 101-107 (Nursing Theories and Their Work). This was not specifically implied but based off the frameworks from the text, this one was applicable-will email professor about it | |
| What topics did the literature review cover? | 4 | The literature review covered relevant topics to transition to practice, competency assessment of CNSs/APRNs and job satisfaction. The literature discussed role ambiguity impeding CNS role transition, the need for a mentor to help facilitate that process and the need for reliable instruments to assess competency.
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| Part III Methodology | |||
| Did the study show evidence of thorough planning from beginning to end? | 2 | ||
| What was the design of the study? | 2 | ||
| Did the study design ‘fit’ the research problem? | 2 | ||
| Were all steps of the scientific method included so the research can be replicated? | 2 | ||
| What was the setting for the study? | 2 | ||
| Who was the target population? | 2 | ||
| What was the sampling technique? | 3 | ||
| What were the sampling criteria and the sample size? | 2 | ||
| What was the data collection method? | 3 | ||
| What were the details of the instrument(s) used? | 3 | ||
| What was the reliability and validity of the instruments? | 3 | ||
| Was IRB approval obtained? | 2 | ||
| Part IV Outcome of Data Analysis | |||
| Were descriptive statistics reported? | 3 | ||
| What variables were described? | 3 | ||
| Were inferential statistics reported? | 4 | ||
| What statistical method(s) were used? | 4 | ||
| What was the set level of significance? | 2 | ||
| Was the null hypothesis(es) rejected?—address each hypothesis/research question | 4 | ||
| Were the findings clearly and concisely stated? | 3 | ||
| Part V Conclusion and Discussion | |||
| Are the limitations of the study described? | 2 | ||
| Can the study be generalized to the population studied? | 2 | ||
| Are nursing recommendations made? | 2 | ||
| Is future research recommended? | 2 | ||
| What were evident problems with this research? | 3 | ||
| Could this research be used as evidence? | 2 | ||
| References | |||
| One half point will be deducted for each grammar/lack of clarity error—regardless of type—for a maximum of 15 points | |||
| Total | 90 | ||
Quantitative Research Article Critique
Group 8 Members: Consuelo Patterson, Kimberly Miller, Kaylee Rogers, and Emma Lewis
| Criteria | Possible Points | Points Earned | Group Response to Criteria |
| Part I Problem | |||
| Was the origin of the problem clearly stated? | 3 | The origin of the problem was clearly stated in this study. There has been a lack of understanding and implementation on the role of a clinical nurse specialist as an advanced practice nurse, specifically in the air force. Clinical nurse specialists who are deployed for operations, are required to function as staff nurses versus advanced practice nurses which may impact patient outcomes. Research suggests that there are military barriers that prevent Air Force CNS from working under their full scope of practice. Additionally, Air Force CNS do not have an additional specialty code to reflect their APRN status. | |
| Was the purpose of the study stated? | 2 | The purpose of the study is clear throughout the article. This research study was done to determine the impact of a transition-to practice program on job satisfaction among novice clinical nurse specialists(CNSs) in the US Air Force. | |
| Was the population who will benefit from the study identified? | 2 | The beneficiary of this study is clear. Novice clinical nurse specialists in the air force will benefit from the research gathered. This study raises the awareness on the need for transition -to-practice programs for clinical nurse specialists in order to close the gap on role ambiguity of the CNS. | |
| Was the problem significant to nursing? | 3 | This problem is very significant to nursing. This study showed that implementing a transition-to-practice program for novice CNSs can improve job satisfaction in the air force. Other sectors of the military such as the army and navy would also benefit from implementation of such programs. Clinical nurse specialists would be able to articulate their impact on patient-nursing outcomes and develop their role identity as an APRN. | |
| Was the relationship of the problem to previous research clear? | 3 | The relationship of the problem to previous research is clear. This article discussed how there is a lack of quality studies within the literature on clinical nurse specialist competency- based orientation with transition to advanced practice. Additionally, it is vital to have quality mentorship during orientation and to have a distinction between staff nurse orientation and advanced practice orientation for novice clinical nurse specialists. | |
| What were the variables under study? | 3 | The independent variable for this study was taking the Transition-to-Practice Program (that specifically because it focused on the low scoring CNS core competencies. Without the program, there would not have been an improved CNS satisfaction score)
The dependent variable within this study was overall job satisfaction (among Novice CNS).
|
|
| What is the research question or hypothesis(es)?—even if not formally addressed in the study | 2 | The research question addressed in this study was, Will the implementation of a transition-to-practice program improve job satisfaction among newly graduated Air Force CNSs? | |
| Part II Theory and Review of the Literature | |||
| Was a theoretical framework identified? If so, what was it? | 4 | There was a theoretical framework centered around this study. This theoretical framework was Benner’s from novice to expert model. See page 101-107 (Nursing Theories and Their Work). This was not specifically implied but based off the frameworks from the text, this one was applicable-will email professor about it | |
| What topics did the literature review cover? | 4 | The literature review covered relevant topics to transition to practice, competency assessment of CNSs/APRNs and job satisfaction. The literature discussed role ambiguity impeding CNS role transition, the need for a mentor to help facilitate that process and the need for reliable instruments to assess competency. | |
| Part III Methodology | |||
| Did the study show evidence of thorough planning from beginning to end? | 2 | ||
| What was the design of the study? | 2 | ||
| Did the study design ‘fit’ the research problem? | 2 | ||
| Were all steps of the scientific method included so the research can be replicated? | 2 | ||
| What was the setting for the study? | 2 | ||
| Who was the target population? | 2 | ||
| What was the sampling technique? | 3 | ||
| What were the sampling criteria and the sample size? | 2 | ||
| What was the data collection method? | 3 | ||
| What were the details of the instrument(s) used? | 3 | ||
| What was the reliability and validity of the instruments? | 3 | ||
| Was IRB approval obtained? | 2 | ||
| Part IV Outcome of Data Analysis | |||
| Were descriptive statistics reported? | 3 | ||
| What variables were described? | 3 | ||
| Were inferential statistics reported? | 4 | ||
| What statistical method(s) were used? | 4 | ||
| What was the set level of significance? | 2 | ||
| Was the null hypothesis(es) rejected?—address each hypothesis/research question | 4 | ||
| Were the findings clearly and concisely stated? | 3 | ||
| Part V Conclusion and Discussion | |||
| Are the limitations of the study described? | 2 | The limitations of the study are clearly described. The sample size used in the study is small, consisting of only 8 participants. Another outlined limitation is that the project used a convenient sample focusing on just Air Force CNSs, which has a negative impact on generalizability. Also, the unique culture within the Air Force might be a limitation to this study. In some Air Force medical treatment facilities, available CNS mentors may be in direct supervisory relationships with the CNS mentee. Mentees may not fully open up to their mentor due to the fear of risks to their careers. | |
| Can the study be generalized to the population studied? | 2 | The population of study is Air Force CNSs. The generalizability of the study is impacted by the small sample size. The study cannot be generalized to the population studied. | |
| Are nursing recommendations made? | 2 | The authors recommended the implementation of a transition-to-practice program for novice CNSs to improve job satisfaction. They also recommended that generalizability to the greater CNS community requires further evaluation. | |
| Is future research recommended? | 2 | The recommendations were clear, giving directions for future studies. For example, this study only focused on the area(s) of self-reported low competency rather than all CNS core competencies. Future studies should focus on all core CNS competencies. Also, the time frame (2 months) was less, hence, future studies should go for 4 to 6 months. The sample size in future projects should be at least 50% of the total population. | |
| What were evident problems with this research? | 3 | The evident problem with this study is the small sample size. The study used only 8 participants, which was 11% of the total population. | |
| Could this research be used as evidence? | 2 | Yes, this study can be used as evidence because it used valid and reliable research methodologies. Therefore, although the generalizability is questionable, the results are valid and reliable. | |
| References | Abel, S. E., & Carter-Templeton, H. (2020). Implementing a Transition-to-Practice Program for Novice Clinical Nurse Specialists: A Pilot Project. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 34(4), 162-169. https://doi.org/10.1097/NUR.0000000000000531 | ||
| One half point will be deducted for each grammar/lack of clarity error—regardless of type—for a maximum of 15 points | |||
| Total | 90 | ||