Clinical Judgment Development Through Model-Based Reflection in Clinical Nursing Education

Abstract This study examined the effectiveness of structured, model-based clinical reasoning reflection prompts for the development of clinical judgment in prelicensure nursing students in the clinical setting. A quasi-experimental design was employed using the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR) and NCLEX questions based on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing clinical judgment measurement model. Prompts were based on Tanner’s clinical judgment model. Statistically significant clinical judgment improvement was found in LCJR scores ( t = 5.31) and NCLEX readiness ( t = 5.14, p < .001). This study supports the use of structured, model-based reflection to enhance clinical judgment development and NCLEX preparation.