EVALUATION OF SELF-ESTEEM BEFORE AND AFTER PRECEPTORSHIP EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENT NURSES

I would like to acknowledge the help and encouragement given to me by my advisor, Dr. Len Popp, and by Professor Michael Kompf and Dr. John Novak. I would like to thank the students of Ryerson School of Nursing who provided motivation for my work and who made the work interesting with their diaries and interviews. As well, I would like to thank the preceptors at six different hospitals who provided me with their insights about students. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their patience while I worked on this thesis. seventy-eight diploma nursing students participated (from a class of 112 students) in completing the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory administered by mailed questionnaire before and at the end of the preceptorship. Also a rating form was completed by 70 preceptors to determine how the observed level of self-confidence compared to self-reported self-esteem at the end of the preceptorship program. As well, four preceptors and five preceptees completed weekly diaries and six preceptors and six preceptees participated in weekly phone interviews with the investigator. Overall, self-esteem went up after the preceptorship. A comparison was made between the pretest and posttest using the t-test (dependent paired samples). Significant difference (p=.05) was demonstrated. Self-confidence ratings by preceptors were inaccurate as they had no relation to the self-reported self-esteem level of students. The diaries and interviews of preceptors and preceptees were a rich source of data as well. ii