'Video-View-Point' - Video analysis to reveal tacit indicators of student nurse competence

Abstract

For over 30 years, the assessment of the clinical competence of student nurses has been the subject of much theoretical debate, yet the definition of criteria based on observable indicators of competence remains problematic. In practice, however, different assessors will judge and agree, relatively quickly, whether a student is competent or not; whether they have got ‘it’. Articulating what ‘it’ is, is difficult; although ‘it’ appears to be collectively, yet tacitly, understood. These judgements provide the key to the definition of competence. This research solves the dilemma of revealing and investigating these tacit understandings through the video analysis of students in simulated practice. The findings of four initial exploratory studies confirmed that competence is an example of tacitly understood behaviour and identified the limitations of traditional research methods in this context. The practical challenges of analysing video were highlighted, leading to the development of Video-View-Point to solve these problems and to reveal the tacitly understood behaviours. This innovative hybrid research method combines analysis of multiple ‘Think Aloud’ commentaries with the ability to ‘point’ at the subject of interest. The analysis is presented as a time-stamped multimedia dialectic, a visually simple yet sophisticated collage of data which reveals relevant behaviours, including those which are tacitly understood. A bespoke software tool (BigSister) was designed to facilitate the data collection, and was tested against the most similar commercially available technology, an eye tracker. The test of Video-View-Point successfully revealed four tacitly understood indicators of competence: communication, processing clinical information, being in the right place, and being proactive. Video-View-Point offers huge potential for behavioural analysis in other domains.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Mark J. Weal: orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-8786

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