Socialization in professional reality integration for nursing student transition (SPRINT) to improve professional competence: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND: Professional socialization could support competency achievement and assist the transition phase. It is rare to find quantitative studies examining the effects of professional socialization for nursing students (NS). OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of a socialization in professional reality integration for nursing student transition (SPRINT) to improve the professional competence of undergraduate NS in Indonesia. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental study non-equivalent control group pre-test post-test design was conducted using convenience sampling. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twenty NS (60 participants in the experimental group and 60 participants in the control group) from two nursing departments in private universities in Indonesia. METHODS: The SPRINT educational intervention consisted of professional socialization training using several learning methods and activities. Meanwhile, the control group received conventional socialization. The Nurse Professional Competence short-form (NPC-SF) scale was evaluated prior to the participants’ internship program, lasting from 6 to 12 weeks after clinical education in both groups. RESULTS: SPRINT intervention significantly increased overall professional competence scores of the experimental groups higher than the control group. By comparing the mean scores in three times measurement, the six competency areas mean score increased significantly for the experimental group while, for the control only three areas of competence increased in twelve week post-test. CONCLUSION: A “SPRINT” as an innovative educational program developed in collaboration with academia, clinical preceptors, could improve professional competence. It is recommended to implement SPRINT program to assist the smooth transition from academic into clinical education.