Psychometric evaluation of the 11-item English language usage scale in commencing nursing students

Crossing horizons: unraveling perspectives on enhancing medical students' success through at-risk factor exploration

BACKGROUND

Medical universities often face the ongoing challenge of identifying and supporting at-risk students to enhance retention rates and academic success. This study explores a comprehensive analysis of perceived at-risk factors impeding academic and career aspirations and compares the perspectives of students and faculty in a medical school.

METHODS

We focused on first and second-year medical (MBBS) students and teaching faculty in an international medical college offering a twinning program in India and Malaysia. Our investigation involved a comprehensive assessment of 25 at-risk factors through Likert-type questionnaires distributed to 250 MBBS students and 50 teaching faculty.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed distinct disparities in perceptions between faculty and students regarding mean scores of classroom engagement (p = 0.017), procrastination (p = 0.001), unrealistic goals (p = 0.026), emotional/behavioral problems (p = 0.008), limited key social skills (p = 0.023), and a non-supportive home environment (p = 0.001). These differences underscore the need for increased communication and understanding between faculty and students to address these risk factors effectively. In contrast, no significant disparities were observed among faculty and students' perceptions concerning mean scores of various potential at-risk factors, including academic unpreparedness, cultural/language barriers, individual guidance/mentoring, limited communication skills, racism/sexism, self-confidence, self-respect, self-concept, motivation, underprepared for current academic challenges, self-discipline, negative social network, negative peer culture, transportation time, college financial cost, college evaluation culture bias, broken college relationships, teaching methodology, and learning disabilities. However, varying degrees of influence were perceived by faculty and students, suggesting the importance of individualized support.

CONCLUSION

This study contributes to the academic community by shedding light on the multifaceted nature of at-risk factors influencing student success. It underscores the need for proactive measures and tailored interventions to enhance student retention in higher education and academic achievement, fostering a sustainable foundation for lifelong learning and growth.

One decade of "English as a medium of instruction" (EMI) in healthcare education

Introduction

This paper analyzes published healthcare studies about "English as a medium of instruction" (EMI), indexed in the Scopus database from 2013 to 2022.

Methods

The author used published criteria of systematic reviews and limited the findings to healthcare education using several key terms; this returned 137 articles. The author then downloaded and carefully read the articles. The majority of articles (102) were deleted because they did not meet the selection criteria discussed in the methods section, thus the final list comprised 35 research studies. Next, the author analyzed the articles' bibliometric indexes, such as author, funding information, context, research instruments, years of publication, place of publication, and citations. In addition, the key findings and recommendations of these studies were presented.

Results and discussion

Most of the studies assessed were conducted in the last five years in Arabic speaking countries by non-language specialists, and the language of instruction was not the main focus of the studies. The studies were most often about attitudes of students, and used quantitative methods such as questionnaires. The results show diverse and conflicted results such as positive impacts and positive attitudes in some cases, negative impacts and attitudes in others, and preferences for either monolingual or bilingual approaches. The findings demonstrate the need for experimental and rigorous mixed methods studies that involve different stakeholders and are conducted by both applied linguists and healthcare education specialists. Future research should move beyond student attitudes and utilize rigorous mixed methods involving researchers from both linguistics and healthcare education to deepen our understanding of EMI's complex impact in diverse contexts.

Predictors of nursing students' intentions to participate in an internationalization-at-home program: The roles of expectancies for success and subjective task value

BACKGROUND

Internationalization-at-home programs are a unique opportunity for those who had been planning to study abroad to learn global clinical practices and cultures at home. However, the factors influencing the motivation of students to join such programs remain unexplored.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship among expectancies for success, subjective task value, and the intention to participate in an internationalization-at-home program, and to identify key factors predicting such an intention among undergraduate nursing students.

DESIGN

A descriptive correlational design with a predictive approach was adopted.

METHODS

A total of 522 undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students in a Hong Kong university participated in the study. Intention to participate in the program was assessed using the Comprehensive Relative Autonomy Index. Expectancies for success and subjective task value were assessed as potential predictors. A multiple linear regression analysis was adopted to examine the predictive effects.

RESULTS

The participants were aged 17-31 years (mean = 20.95, SD = 2.39). Those who reported having previously participated in the program (β = 0.10, p-value = .014), greater intercultural communication competence (β = 0.14, p-value = .003), greater perceived social competence (β = 0.11, p-value = .031), and a higher subjective value of the program (β = 0.28, p-value<.001) expressed a greater intention to join the program. Collectively, the three variables accounted for 14.7 % of the variances in intention to participate in the program.

CONCLUSIONS

Cultural self-efficacy, intercultural communication competence, perceived social competence, individual interest, foreign language learning motivation, and subjective value of the program were found to be key factors predicting the intention of nursing students to participate in internationalization-at-home. Future studies can provide interventions to address these factors and enhance the benefits of internationalization-at-home programs.

Development and psychometric testing of the attitude and confidence with oral healthcare among nursing students (ACORN) scale

AIM

To develop and test the psychometric properties of the attitude and confidence with oral healthcare among nursing students (ACORN) scale.

BACKGROUND

Delivering oral healthcare is an essential component of care, which is often overlooked and omitted. A nurse's attitude or confidence may influence how oral healthcare is prioritised. To date, there are no scales that assess both attitude and confidence for nurses when undertaking oral healthcare and thus the ACORN scale was developed.

METHODS

The 24-item scale was developed following a three-stage process, which included concept identification and item construction, pilot testing, factorial and discriminant validity and reliability testing. The survey was distributed to nursing students to assess their attitude and confidence in providing oral healthcare. This study has been registered with the Registry of Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies (12940.1v1).

RESULTS

Using a before and after intervention survey design, the psychometric properties of the ACORN scale were examined with data collected from two student groups. Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded a two-factor structure, which was verified using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Importantly, aggregated scale scores were able to detect differences in attitude and confidence following oral healthcare education (4.95 versus 5.66, p < 0.01). The Cronbach's alpha for the 24-item scale was 0.94.

CONCLUSION

The ACORN scale is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess differences in attitude and confidence of students following oral health education. Further research is recommended to test the utility of this scale using other educational interventions with different groups of healthcare providers.