Appraisal and Evaluation of the Learning Environment Instruments of the Student Nurse: A Systematic Review Using COSMIN Methodology

Abstract

Background: Nursing education consists of theory and practice, and student nurses’ perception of the learning environment, both educational and clinical, is one of the elements that determines the success or failure of their university study path. This study aimed to identify the currently available tools for measuring the clinical and educational learning environments of student nurses and to evaluate their measurement properties in order to provide solid evidence for researchers, educators, and clinical tutors to use in the selection of tools. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the psychometric properties of self-reported learning environment tools in accordance with the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) Guidelines of 2018. The research was conducted on the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, and ERIC. Results: In the literature, 14 instruments were found that evaluate both the traditional and simulated clinical learning environments and the educational learning environments of student nurses. These tools can be ideally divided into first-generation tools developed from different learning theories and second-generation tools developed by mixing, reviewing, and integrating different already-validated tools. Conclusion: Not all the relevant psychometric properties of the instruments were evaluated, and the methodological approaches used were often doubtful or inadequate, thus threatening the instruments’ external validity. Further research is needed to complete the validation processes undertaken for both new and already developed instruments, using higher-quality methods and evaluating all psychometric properties.