Healthcare Employees/Individual Contributors/Members/Adults
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between nursing experience and critical thinking and leadership skills of first degree APN graduate nursing students compared to accelerated second degree APN graduate nursing students.
METHODOLOGY The population were all graduate APN students (N=160) in their last year of study, further divided into two groups: first degree APN graduate nursing students and accelerated second degree APN graduate nursing students, and 99 (61%) completed all three instruments: the Leadership Practices Inventory, the WGCTA Form S (Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal), and the Nurse Practitioner Profile Demographic. Participants were female (93%), on average 36 years of age, with an average of 8.4 years of nursing experience.
KEY FINDINGS There was a direct correlation between nursing years of experience and Enable Others to Act and Challenge the Process. Those with non-nursing educations scored significantly higher on Challenge, Inspire, and Transformational Leadership (combined scores from all five leadership practices).