Predictors of Nursing Clinical Judgment in Simulation

This was a pilot study of novice and expert nurses participating in a simulation to determine the predictors of clinical judgment. Covariates included age, nursing experience, simulation experience, and six measures of pupil dilation as a measure of stress with scores on the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric as the dependent variable. A stepwise linear regression found years of RN experience was the only predictor of better clinical judgment. Despite evidence of stress, only years as a nurse was a statistically significant predictor.