Enhancing metacognition through the reflective use of self-regulated learning strategies.
BACKGROUND
An important concern of nursing practice and education is the difficulty new graduates experience while making the transition from graduate nurse to practicing nurse.


METHODS
Using a comparative descriptive design, self-regulated learning strategies were used to enhance metacognitive critical thinking abilities as 32 new graduate nurses reflected during 8-week preceptorship programs.


RESULTS
Verbal protocol analysis revealed the majority of noun referents as metacognitive with thinking nouns increasing in rank from Week 1 to Week 8, present tense verbs were used most frequently with lower-level thinking phrases. Common themes in the narrative were knowledge observation, thinking strategies, judgments of self-improvement, judgments of competence, judgments of resources, self-reactions, and self-correction strategies.


CONCLUSIONS
New graduate nurses have unique circumstances to overcome in making a transition to the workplace, and having self-regulatory skills would enable this process. The data suggest nursing education and practice consider self-regulated learning prompts with new graduates to promote thinking strategies.
Kuiper
Ruthanne
R
Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina 27110, USA.
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D011231:Preceptorship; D012647:Self-Assessment