title: Clinical Hours in Nurse Practitioner Programs Equals Clinical Competence: Fact or Misnomer?
abstract: An assumption in nursing education is that clinical experience equals competent practice. Knowing the extent of learning acquired during these experiences is important, and in graduate education, this is not always known. This study examined the nature of clinical hours that nurse practitioner students complete during practicum courses and explored activities of students when not engaged in direct patient care.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Clinical Assistant Professor (Drs Fulton and Clark), School of Nursing, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis; Senior Biostatistician & Consulting Manager (Ms Dickinson), Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington.
authors.forename: Cathy R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Fulton
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dickinson
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education*; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors