Nursing Students' Perceived Preparedness: the Impact of Apprenticeship Programs in Alabama Community Colleges
The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether perceived nursing professional self-efficacy differed between final semester Associate Degree Nursing students who participated in a student nurse apprenticeship program and those who did not. The study was guided by Situated Learning Theory and the Cognitive Apprenticeship framework, which emphasize learning through observation, guided practice, and progressive responsibility within authentic clinical environments.A cross-sectional, nonexperimental comparative design was used. The sample included 199 final semester Associate Degree Nursing students enrolled in Alabama community colleges, consisting of 64 student nurse apprentices and 135 non-apprentice students. Perceived professional self-efficacy was measured using the Nursing Profession Self-Efficacy Scale Second Version. Responses were standardized to a 0 to 100 total score as recommended by the instrument developers. The NPSES2 demonstrated strong internal consistency in the current sample with a Cronbach's α = .89. An independent samples t test was conducted to examine group differences.Results indicated high levels of perceived professional self-efficacy in both groups, with no statistically significant difference identified. Findings suggest that apprenticeship participation was not associated with differences in perceived professional self-efficacy in the final semester. Further research is recommended to examine post-graduation and workforce impact.Keywords: student nurse apprenticeship, professional self-efficacy, nursing education
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