Factors Affecting Student Success

Despite the high demand for nurses, and all those who wants to be a nurse, there still is a high dropout rate in the nursing program. Virginia Peterson notes in 2009 that “30% of students who enter a baccalaureate of nursing education program do not graduate, and of that 30% “approximately 82.3% leave in the first semester (411).” The dropout rate led Virginia Peterson designed a study to test to see if certain variables led up to the high dropout rate. However, the study concluded that variables such as how

In my current role as a nurse educator I feel the desire to pursue my dream of obtaining a master’s degree, specializing in nursing education. It has been 27 years since I have sat in the student chair in a classroom; therefore, I anticipate a number of challenges and barriers to overcome. In this paper I will present and describe three challenges that I expect to be faced with over the next two years. I will also discuss the strategies I plan to use to address these challenges.

I first heard about Concordia University Irvine’s ABSN program through my cousin Ana Versigan who is a graduate from the program. My cousin greatly admired Concordia’s ABSN program and she highly advised me to apply for the program. The ABSN program at CUI immensely prepared Ana for her career as a nurse. CUI provided small classes and opportunities to interact with the professors which cannot be said about other schools. She was able to make connections with her professors and received exceptional help from her professors and worked in groups with her classmates. With the education and help from the professors, she was prepared for interviews where she performed remarkably well and was offered multiple positions. Ana’s exemplary success due to her educational background at Concordia fiercely encouraged my decision to apply for CUI’s ABSN program. I believe that I would make an exceptional addition to CUI’s ABSN program because I believe that I have qualities and characteristics that make me a strong fit for a career in nursing.

For years now it has been well know and documented that there is a brutal disconnect between what school prepares NGRN for and the reality they find once they begin working.(Duchscher, 2009) This stark difference found between school and reality sets new graduates (NG) up for a hard fall and the disillusionment they are under when entering the professional practice can lead them to exit nursing altogether.(Duchscher, 2009) The problem then of course becomes recruitment and retention, and the cost of training new nurses back in 2007 was recorded to be as much as 82,000 to 88,000 each.(Ulrich et al., 2010)

Becoming a nurse requires extensive schooling and training that for most students causes considerable amounts of stress to be placed on their success for the future. Nursing school places students in an environment that is rigorous and competitive which in turn results in high-stress levels experienced by these students. The stress inflicted on these students causes them to experience health problems along with deterring them from completing their studies. Additionally, the pressure and struggles these students are facing are being ignored by those placing them under these conditions, ignoring the fact that the educators of these students are responsible for ensuring the well-being of these students. Proven that nursing students experience more stress than the average college undergraduate, the stress inflicted on nursing students by their educational process results in students that are less likely to succeed and that are overall less healthy both physically and mentally.

Research further shows that those registered nurses that have obtained their degrees at the associate degree and diploma levels have an increase in their level of skills when completing a BSN degree. When comparing RN to BSN graduates from the years 1995 to 1998 it was (Rosseter, 2010, para. 24) shown that these students had a higher competency in nursing process, articulation, management, professional integration and analysis/dissemination (Phillips, C.Y., Palmer, C.V., Zimmerman, B.J. & Mayfield, M. 2002).

There are many challenges aspiring nurses have to grapple with in order to attain the license. These challenges dramatically influence the drop-out rate in many instances. A study conducted by the University of Cincinnati, cites that the drop-out

While the nursing field continues to flourish in today’s job market,it is also experiencing a massive shortage. Despite this alarming fact, according to Buerhaus (2008): “ Of the estimated 2.24 million RNs in the nursing workforce in 2006, 200,000 were men (8%)” (p. 2424). In order to alleviate the nursing shortage, nursing schools must allure men into the field by eliminating the feminization of the profession and appealing to a diverse demographic who choose to pursue a career in a female dominated field. Moreover, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students, omitting gender differences between associate and baccalaureate degree levels, and comparing nursing programs from various regions will bring about the necessary and crucial change the nursing field is in dire need for. However, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students; nursing schools are unable to distinguish the elite from the amateur slackers. Omitting gender differences between degree levels, will considerably affect the quality of care and patient safety and above all comparing nursing schools will only result in misleading information that gives students the run around .

Though, associate degree nursing (ADN) students take the same qualifying examination with the baccalaureate program student to be licensed, the differences between nurses prepared at both levels cannot be over-emphasized. The BSN graduates bring unique skills to their work as nursing clinicians and play an important role in the delivery of safe patient care (AACN, 2013). The BSN curriculum is structured in a more in-depth way, thereby giving the students a more well-rounded education. They take courses that help them gain a better

While the nursing field continues to flourish in today’s job market,it is also experiencing a massive shortage. Despite this alarming fact, according to Buerhaus (2008): “ Of the estimated 2.24 million RNs in the nursing workforce in 2006, 200,000 were men (8%)” (p. 2424). In order to alleviate the nursing shortage, nursing schools must allure men into the field by eliminating the feminization of the profession and appealing to a diverse demographic who choose to pursue a career in a female dominated field. Moreover, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students, omitting gender differences between associate and baccalaureate degree levels, and comparing nursing programs from various regions will bring about the necessary and crucial change the nursing field is in dire need for. However, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students; nursing schools are unable to distinguish the elite from the amateur slackers. Omitting gender differences between degree levels, will considerably affect the the quality of care and patient safety and above all comparing nursing schools will only result in misleading information that gives students the run around .

The minimum level of nursing education required for nursing jobs has been a topic of discussion for a several decade now. The Council of State Board of Nursing reported in their most recent statistics that Associate Registered Nurses accounted for 58.4% of the workforce while only 38.4% have a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in the United States. The issue is that recommendations have been made to shut down the existing pipeline of Associate Nurses (AN) to that of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). The goal of this change is to transition the average 50% of the nurses who have an associate degree to 80% BSN by the next

Arizona State University (ASU) College of Nursing & Health Innovation’s (CON) undergraduate program has ten undergraduate program completion outcomes. ASU’s outcomes are brief but concise reflecting the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) recommendations, nursing courses and the mission statement. The language utilized in the outcomes appropriately describes student behaviors and describe learning outcomes not processes (UCONN, n.d.). According to Davenport, Spath, and Blauvelt (2009) . Overall the outcomes were well written with a few suggestions to make the statements stronger by using Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs. The undergraduate program completion outcomes were provided by (B.EEEEEE, personal communication, August 12, 2015).

Statistics produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (2011) highlight that the percentage drop out rate for students on all types of Degree level programmes is relatively low at approximately 10% whereas for those studying the Diploma level programme the drop out rate increases to 17%. Therefore the statistics identified for attrition from pre-registration nursing programmes are higher that the average attrition rate of all other Degree and Diploma programmes.

Nursing is a challenging profession and there are many qualities a person must have in order to be a successful nurse. Simply put, “nurses must have a reliable knowledge base for decision-making, clinical judgment, critical thinking, and lifelong learning” (Hamilton, 2011, p. 16). Likewise, it is well known that the demand for qualified nurses has increased, and with that so has the interest of students to enter this field has also increased. According to the AACN (2014), “RN enrollment has increased every year for the past 13 years, and the biggest limiting factor is instructors and clinical sites.” However, according to a study, “Although enrollments continue to grow the attrition rate nationwide hovers around 50%” (Beauvais, Stewart, Denisco, & Beauvais, 2013, p. 918). This is an alarming amount of students dropping out of their programs, and with it comes many burdens. When a student drops or fails out, the school loses money they would have generated and in addition, a demanded worker not provided. Additionally studies have shown that, “primary reported explanation for student attrition is admission of minimally qualified students to nursing programs who do not demonstrate adequate preparation to begin the rigorous curriculum” (Hamilton, 2011, p 27). In turn, with the national nursing shortage, it is essential we explore

What do think when you hear student success? Many people think different things. For example, student success could be a student having a good job in something they specialized on, and are living on their own without anybody's help. There are several different ways student succeed and ways to change schools in order for their students to succeed as well in this article. For instance, Anaheim High Schools can improve student success if we have longer school days, make the student be interested in school and on what they are learning, and having more after school programs that interest kids and will keep their minds off of bad things.