Predictors of retention among undergraduate students attending associate-degree nursing programs in Illinois

University Students' Mindset and Effort Regulation Across the Domains of Nursing and English

In this study, we examined and compared the beliefs of undergraduate nursing students at a healthcare-focused university in central Japan regarding their abilities to learn English and nursing and sustain effort in their studies. Specifically, the purposes of this research were to learn how Japanese nursing students' mindsets and effort regulation differed across the domains of English and nursing and to determine the extent to which mindsets can predict students' effort regulation in these domains. Data were collected through an online questionnaire (N = 132). We found that students' mindsets and effort regulation differed across the domains of English and nursing with no significant differences by year of study. Growth mindsets and effort regulation were significantly higher and fixed mindsets were significantly lower in nursing than in English. Mindsets in nursing were found to predict effort regulation in both nursing and English, but mindsets in English were found only to predict effort regulation in English. The findings offer valuable insights into the learning beliefs of Japanese nursing students and may provide ideas about how to better motivate nursing students in their studies. Furthermore, the study contributes to the understanding of how mindsets vary across domains and cultural contexts.

Factors Influencing Retention among Regional, Rural and Remote Undergraduate Nursing Students in Australia: A Systematic Review of Current Research Evidence

BACKGROUND

This systematic review aimed to explore the factors influencing retention among regional, rural, and remote undergraduate nursing students who were enrolled in Australian universities.

METHODS

Mixed-methods systematic review. A+ Education, CINAHL, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Education Research Complete, JBI EBP database, Journals@Ovid, Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched from September 2017 to September 2022 to identify eligible English-language studies. The methodological quality of the included studies was critically assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute's critical appraisal tools. Descriptive analysis with a convergent segregated approach was conducted to synthesize and integrate the results from the included studies.

RESULTS

Two quantitative and four qualitative studies were included in this systematic review. Both the quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrated that additional academic and personal support was essential for improving retention among undergraduate nursing students from regional, rural, and remote areas in Australia. The qualitative synthesis also highlighted many internal (e.g., personal qualities, stress, ability to engage with classes and institutions, time management, lack of confidence, cultural well-being, and Indigenous identity) and external factors (e.g., technical difficulties, casual tutors, different competing demands, study facilities, and financial and logistical barriers) that influenced retention among undergraduate nursing students from regional, rural, and remote areas in Australia.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review demonstrates that identifying potentially modifiable factors could be the focus of retention support programs for undergraduate nursing students. The findings of this systematic review provide a direction for the development of retention support strategies and programs for undergraduate nursing students from regional, rural and remote areas in Australia.

Cultivating Academic Help-Seeking Behavior Among First-Semester Nursing Students

BACKGROUND

To improve retention rates, many nursing programs are placing greater emphasis on providing students with a range of opportunities for learning support. Although offering academic support is critically important, these services can be effective only if students use them. This article describes an exploratory study that investigated nursing student academic help-seeking behavior.

METHOD

Thirty-one first-semester nursing students enrolled in an Associate Degree nursing program participated in the study. Survey data were analyzed to identify key factors that influence academic help-seeking behavior.

RESULTS

The findings revealed personal, social, and environmental factors that influence students' decisions to seek help and highlighted the interconnections between and among factors.

CONCLUSION

Implementing new models for student success may help nursing programs cultivate academic help-seeking behavior among first-semester nursing students. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(7):403-407.].

Factors That Affect the Success of Ethnically Diverse Nursing Students: An Integrative Review of the Literature

AIM

The purpose of this research was to review nursing student retention literature to better understand how to help ethnically diverse undergraduate nursing students succeed.

BACKGROUND

Nursing student retention continues to be a major challenge. Additional research is needed to improve the retention of students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

METHOD

An integrative literature review was conducted. Qualitative analysis of 10 studies was used to identify emergent themes.

RESULTS

Analyses of the studies reveal the magnitude, complexity, and distinctiveness of the challenges ethnically diverse nursing students face.

CONCLUSION

The findings have implications for developing strategies for helping this important at-risk population of students complete their nursing degrees.