Professional Development and Mentorship Needs of Nurse Practitioners
| Areas of critique | Questions to be answered regarding the article | Critique Responses | Points achieved |
| Intent of the
Research (7) |
Is the title of the study clear? (1) | Yes. | |
| What is the research question(s) if stated? What is the hypothesis if stated? (3) | i. The first research question explores the beliefs of novice and veteran NPs on mentorships in helping them develop professionally and continue developing professionally, respectively.
ii. The second research question examines what novice NPs need for their professional development in primary care and other areas of practice. iii. The third research question compares how novice professional development needs rank against those of veteran NPs across five domains of practice. |
||
| What are the issues or variables being studied? Are there Independent & Dependent variables identified? (3) | · The main issues or variables studied were the professional development and mentorship needs of novice and veteran NPs and how the needs between novice and veteran NPs rank and help develop effective programs to meet these needs.
· The study does not seek to determine cause-effect relationships between variables. So, there are no clearly defined dependent and independent variables. · However, some independent and dependent variables can be identified based on the question. o The independent variables include the type of NP (novice NPs and veteran NPs) and the five domains of practice. o The dependent variables were the average Likert scores for each category assessed. |
||
| Significance of study (5) | How is the research problem significant to nursing?
How will the findings improve practice? (5) |
· The research problem is significant as it covers the need for mentoring and continuous professional development among novice and veteran NPs.
· As NPs are critical professionals in the healthcare system, the article highlights the importance of mentoring NPs to help them meet their professional development needs and professional expertise. · The findings will improve NP practice as they can help determine NP professional development needs and tailor mentorship programs to these needs, determine ways to support NPs in their professional development, and help provide resources to support NPs in their professional development. |
|
| Methods (26) | What is the study design? Describe. Was this appropriate? (5) What is the level of evidence in this research? Describe the model used to evaluate the level of research (3) | · The article employs a quantitative, descriptive research design.
· The study design is appropriate as it helps identify the beliefs and needs and helps rank the professional development needs of novice and veteran NPs. Descriptive research design is useful when a study aims to identify the characteristics, frequencies, trends, and categories of a problem when no much information is available on the problem (Polit & Beck, 2017). · The level of evidence is level six of the Melnyk Model. · The Melnyk Model of EBP has eight levels of evidence, with Level 1 being the strongest and Level 8 being the weakest level of evidence (Melnyk & Fineout-Overhold, 2022). |
|
| Was the sample randomized or not randomized? Was the sample selection addressed? (3) | · The sample was not randomized.
· The authors applied convenience sampling. The authors have clearly addressed the sample selection process. |
||
| Was the sample size adequate? Was there a power analysis done? (3) | · The sample size of 198 participants used in the research was adequate as a total of 120 participants was needed to attain an 80% power.
· A power analysis was done using the G*Power (Version 3.17), and a power of above .80 was achieved. |
||
| What evidence was provided that biases were eliminated or minimized? What steps were taken to control confounding participant characteristics that could affect the equivalence of groups being compared? Were these steps adequate? (6) | · Although not clearly indicated, the study utilized Survey Monkey tools for bias elimination or minimization.
· There are no clear steps taken to control confounding participant characteristics. However, the NP grouping was clearly restricted to novice and veteran NPs based on years in practice. This restriction can be adequate to control the confounding effects of participant characteristics. |
||
| What were the inclusion and exclusion criteria? (3) | Participants were included in the study if they were NPs in Texas NPs who belong to a state professional organization and the availability of their e-mail addresses. | ||
| Describe the instruments used- were they reliable/valid? Is this addressed? (3) | · A questionnaire was used as the survey instrument. It was valid as it was based on the Strong model of advanced practice.
· Validity was addressed, and six internal reliabilities were conducted. |
||
| Procedures (6) | Describe how the data was collected- was it consistent? (3) | Data was collected using an online survey tool, Survey Monkey. It is consistent across all participants. | |
| Were the dependent variables always obtained in the same manner? (3) | Yes. The survey instrument was consistent in the collection of dependent variables. | ||
| Analysis (32)
|
What type of analysis was done? Identify the statistics used that are appropriate for the level of measurement. Are all assumptions met? (5) Was rationale provided for the use of statistical tests? | · The article uses the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and analyzes data using descriptive and inferential statistics.
· Both are appropriate for level measurement as they can help summarize and organize characteristics of a data set and help test the applicability of the data on a large population. · All assumptions were met. · The rationale for using the statistical tests is not provided. |
|
| Was analysis appropriate for the design/methods used? (3) | Yes. The analysis was appropriate as it helped summarize the characteristics of the NPs, including the perceived need for professional development and mentoring, and assess the generalizability of the results across the larger NP population. | ||
| Were the relevant sample demographics described? (3) Were they used to answer RQ when inferential statistics would have been more appropriate? (3) | Yes. The relevant sample demographics described and inferential statistics were also used in the analysis of the data. | ||
| What were the results of the study? (3) Were any results significant? What do the tests tell about the RQ or hypotheses? (3) Were any tests non-significant? Is it plausible that these reflect a Type II error? (3) What factors might have undermined the study’s statistical conclusion validity? (3) | · The study found that both novice and veteran NPs find mentoring important to their professional development; training needs do not differ with area of practice for novice NPs but differ between novice and veteran NPs.
· The tests approve the RQs and help understand the objectives of the study, as well as the focus of the study questions in whether they focus on testing cause-effect relationships or correlations. · All tests were significant and did not reflect a TYPE II error. · However, the validity of the study’s statistical conclusion can be undermined by the sample size and lack of control of extraneous variables. |
||
| Was an appropriate amount of statistical information reported? Are the findings clearly and logically organized? (3) Were tables or figures used to summarize large amounts of statistical information? (3)
|
· A sufficient amount of statistical information is reported, and the findings are clearly and logically organized into groups—for instance, demographics and findings for each question.
· The article uses figures and tables to summarize large amounts of statistical information for each RQ and the test for internal reliability and reliability. |
||
| Results and Interpretation (24) | What was the researcher’s interpretation of the results? (3)
Do the results make sense? Did the researcher develop reasonable conclusions? (3) |
· The researcher has provided a clear discussion that interprets all parts of the results for each RQ and test conducted.
· The results are sensible as they answer all RQs based on sufficient data and analysis. · The researcher also develops reasonable conclusions. For instance, based on the results, the researcher has concluded that both novice and veteran NPs recognize the need for professional development and appreciate the role of mentoring in growing professional expertise (Jarrell, 2016). · The results also define specific domains of practice that influence professional development needs. |
|
| Do the researchers discuss the limitations of the study and their possible effects on the credibility of the research? (3) Did the researchers discuss the generalizability of the results? (3) Did the researchers discuss the implications for clinical practice? (3) | · The researcher has not discussed the study’s limitations or how they may impact the credibility of the study.
· However, the researcher discussed how the findings of the study can be generalized in NP practice, the implications of the results for nursing leaders, and recommendations for future research. |
||
| What is your interpretation of the results? (3) | Regardless of the years of practice, mentoring is essential for NPs to continuously develop professionally. Mentoring empowers all NPs in all practice settings. | ||
| How would you improve upon this study if you were to conduct a similar study? (3) | I would improve the study by further subdividing the NPs into subgroups, including specialty and gender, besides the years of experience.
Again, as per the recommendation for future research, the research can also be improved by focusing on how mentorship programs impact individual outcomes, including expertise, job satisfaction, job retention, and quality of patient care.
|
||
| Can the study results make an important contribution? (3) | The study’s findings make important contributions to nursing research, practice, and education. The results have identified domains of focus in professional development for new and veteran nurses. It also provides directions for future research. | ||
| Total points: 100 |
References
Jarrell, L. (2016). Professional development and mentorship needs of nurse practitioners. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000160
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overhold, E. (2022). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice 9th edition. In MCN The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing (10th ed., Vol. 34, Issue 6). Wolters Kluwer.
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question 
Professional Development and Mentorship Needs of Nurse Practitioners
This assignment will consist of a quantitative article critique with a focus on the methods, statistics, analysis and interpretation. It will be important to analyze and evaluate the article, not just summarize it – for example, it is not enough to say the sample size was adequate. You should state the sample size and state why you know it was adequate. Do NOT cut/paste from the article- this is YOUR interpretation and analysis of the article. If you use Polit or another source to substantiate your comment, then reference the source. Do not include quotes in the critique.
If you want more specifics to help you with the critique, check out Polit & Beck (2021) on p. 304, which includes a guideline for critiquing data collection plans in quantitative studies and structured data collection methods; p.381, which includes a guideline for critiquing descriptive studies; p. 408, which includes a guideline for critiquing bivariate inferential analyses; and p. 465, which includes a guideline for critiquing interpretations in discussion sections of quantitative research reports. These guidelines break down the components of the critique process for quantitative research.
Write your critique directly into the rubric. Do not do it in paragraph form.
IMPORTANT: You must use the 4 articles linked below. If you choose an article different than these, you will be asked to redo the assignment using one of the four articles provided.
Complete the 
Complete the order payment after filling in the order form. We’ll receive your order and assign it to a writer.
The assigned writer will complete your paper and forward it to our Editing Team for review and approval.
Once approved by the editor, the completed paper will be uploaded to your account for you to download, review and approve.