Nursing student attrition and implications for pre-admission advisement

Building a community with your advisees

Few faculty members have received specific orientation, guidance, or training for academic advising. The author describes the advisor-advisee relationship, the responsibilities of both parties, the goals of advising, expectations that students have of their advisors, and tips for advising a student with poor academic performance. Resources for advising are included, as well as recommendations for using technology effectively to strengthen the advising role and create a community with your advisees.

Young People Considering Nursing as a Career: Starters vs. Non-starters

This study focused on applicants who were accepted to a nursing education program but did not begin their studies, thus wasting time, effort and money. Of 953 accepted applicants, 27% did not enter the program. Significant variables differentiating starters from non-starters were higher psychometric score, higher paternal education, lower priority for nursing studies, older age, non-Israeli country of birth and not completed army service. The study relating to starters vs. non-starters is one aspect of a large study (Ehrenfeld, Rotenberg, Sharon, & Bergman, 1995). In most nursing education programs the number of applicants exceed the faculty's capacity, and suitable candidates must be rejected. It is therefore both wasteful and disappointing when accepted applicants change their mind and do not actually begin in the program. In light of the costs and complexities involved in the student screening process and the continuous efforts extended today all over the world to raise the standards of nursing education and care, the factors differentiating starters from non-starters may have important implications. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the screening process at the Tel Aviv University baccalaureate nursing program and determine which variables were predictive of starters and non-starters among accepted applicants.

Improving Examination Performance Using Exam Analysis

The Exam Analysis is a diagnostic and prescriptive program in which a student and an instructor identify why the student failed to answer specific questions correctly on an examination. Problems related to incorrect answers are then categorized into five problem areas. This analysis is used to develop a plan which will help the student utilize specific skills in order to improve examination performance. This article describes the Exam Analysis program, gives specific information which will enable an instructor to assist a student in completing an Exam Analysis, and discusses the results of a survey in which 105 nursing students evaluated the impact of participating in the program on subsequent examination performance. A large majority of the students surveyed agreed that participation in the Exam Analysis program resulted in improved examination performance. Improved exam-taking skills, better study skills, decreased test anxiety and increased self-confidence were identified as Exam Analysis program outcomes by the students included in the study.

Student nurse wastage: a case study of the profile and perceptions of students of an institution

A case study was undertaken at a university school of nursing in South Africa in order to establish to what extent student nurse wastage at this school conformed to trends in schools offering the same 4-year basic nursing course. Further, the views of students were solicited about factors that precipitated student nurse attrition at this school, as well as means which, in their opinion, could curb wastage and retain students on this course. A total of 147 students who were currently pursuing the course, and all previous students of this school who answered the description of actually or potentially dropping out of the course, were the target population. A questionnaire was returned by 84% of this group. Findings showed that this institution was amongst those whose attrition rate was low, but it conformed to the trend of student attrition in other universities. Respondents' perceptions of this issue were divergent, and so were their recommendations.

Retrospective analysis of the use of a standardized reference form in admissions to a dietetics internship program

Although the letter of recommendation is the most commonly requested information relating to the personal qualities of applicants to dietetics internship programs, little research has focused on its value in selection decisions. The purpose of this study was to review how 318 letters of recommendation submitted on a standardized form related to the source of the reference and to the admission status of the applicants. The form contained 40 attributes that raters assigned to one of six categories. Nine of the 40 attributes were not rated by more than 75% of the raters, and 3 of the attributes were rated as outstanding by more than 60% of the raters. We concluded that these attributes did little to distinguish among applicants. The attribute maturity correlated 0.70 with 5 attributes and 0.99 with 2 attributes, so duplication of information existed. Raters were categorized as follows: adviser, major professor, other professor, employer, and other. The highest mean ratings were given by advisers; major professors rated students lowest. Analysis of variance supported a significant difference in rating by type of rater. Our findings suggest that fewer items should be used on a standardized form and that the type of rater should be specified if references are to distinguish among applicants.

Retention of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Students: Approaches Used by California's 21 Generic Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

A rapidly growing number of California's ethnic minority nursing students are individuals whose primary language is not English; these English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students often have high attrition rates. This research surveys the approaches used in all of California's 21 generic baccalaureate nursing programs to retain their ESL students until graduation. Comparisons between the five programs with the highest ESL student retention rates and the group as a whole show significant differences.