A comparison of competencies between problem-based learning and non-problem-based graduate nurses.

Competence is essential to ensuring safe, ethical and legal nursing practice. Various teaching strategies are used in nursing education in an effort to enhance graduate competence by bridging the gap between theory learned in the classroom and professional practice as a nurse. The objective of this comparative descriptive research was to determine if there was a difference in self reported competence between graduates from PBL and non PBL (NPBL) nursing programs. A convenience sample of 121 graduate nurses in one Canadian province, who had been practicing for at least 6 months took part in the study. The researcher designed questionnaire included both forced choice and open ended questions. There was no statistical significance difference between the PBL and NPBL graduates on self reported entry-to-practice competence. However, several significant themes did emerge from the answers to open ended questions which asked graduates how their nursing programs prepared them to meet the entry-to-practice competencies and what program improvements they might suggest. Unlike the NPBL graduates, the PBL graduates identified the structure and process of their programs as instrumental in their preparation to meet the entry-to-practice competencies. PBL graduates associated their abilities to think critically and engage in self-directed evidence-based practice as key to enabling them to meet the competencies. A common theme for program improvement for both PBL and NPBL graduates was a request for more clinical time.