Differences between novices' and experts' solving ill-structured problems.

Autor: Sarsfield E; Department of Nursing, Malek School of Health Professions, Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.) [Public Health Nurs] 2014 Sep-Oct; Vol. 31 (5), pp. 444-53. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Dec 30.
DOI: 10.1111/phn.12100
Abstrakt: Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe differences in the cognitive processes of novice and expert public health nurses (PHNs) as they solved ill-structured problems commonly found in public health practice.
Design and Sample: This descriptive/exploratory small group design used the think-aloud method, a qualitative technique of collecting verbal data about cognitive processes. Data were coded and analyzed using theoretical thematic analysis. The purposive sample consisted of 12 registered nurses: six novices and six experts.
Measures: Participants were asked to think-aloud as they solved two ill-structured public health problems (underage drinking and obesity).
Results: Findings indicated that novice and expert PHNs solve ill-structured problems differently. Experts used cognitive strategies, such as conversion, to propel the problem-solving process forward, forming complex, detailed problem representations and solutions. Novices asked questions as a strategy in defining the problem and developed broad, superficial problem representations and solutions.
Conclusions: This study suggests the need for the development of strategies in the workplace and in academia that support PHNs in identifying and solving ill-structured problems as they transition from novice to expert.
(© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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