A Student Selection Method and Predictors of Success in a Graduate Nursing Program

Recruitment, selection and retention of nursing and midwifery students in Scottish Universities

BACKGROUND

High attrition rates from pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes have been reported in both the UK and in other countries.

OBJECTIVES

A study was conducted to identify best practice in recruitment, selection and retention across Scottish Universities providing pre-registration programmes.

DESIGN

A survey of all universities providing pre-registration programmes in Scotland was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key personnel in each university. Documentary evidence was collected to supplement interview data and evidence recruitment, selection and retention practices.

SETTINGS

All universities in Scotland providing pre-registration nursing and/or midwifery programmes.

PARTICIPANTS

All 10 identified universities agreed to take part and a total of 18 interviews were conducted.

METHODS

Semi-structured face to face and telephone interviews were conducted. Relevant documentary evidence was collected. All data were subject to thematic analysis.

FINDINGS

Universities are predominantly concerned with recruiting to the institution and not to the professions. Interviews are widely used, and are a requirement in the United Kingdom. However, there is no evidence base within the literature that they have predictive validity despite creating scales and scoring systems which are largely unvalidated. The study identified initiatives aimed at addressing attrition/retention, however most had not been evaluated often due to the multi-factorial nature of attrition/retention and difficulties with measurement.

CONCLUSIONS

Recruitment selection and retention initiatives were rarely evaluated, and if so, adopted a relatively superficial approach. Evidence from existing studies to support practices was mostly weakly supportive or absent. The study highlights the need for a coordinated approach, supporting the development of a robust evidence base through the evaluation of local initiatives, and evaluation of new strategies. Evaluation strategies must take account of the local context to facilitate transferability of findings across different settings.

Developing a selection method for graduate nursing students

PURPOSE

The student selection process is an important faculty responsibility that impacts student success in individual courses, retention, and ultimately graduation rates. The purpose of this article is to review the existing research on graduate student selection and describe one university's newly developed selection process.

DATA SOURCES

Existing literature and research and one university's selection data.

CONCLUSIONS

There is limited existing research on graduate student selection to assist faculty in selecting students. One university's process is described in detail for possible replication by others to improve the process.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The process highlighted in this article may be useful to other faculty as a model for improvement of student selection processes.

Association between academic and non-academic variables and academic success of diploma nursing students in Pakistan

This paper reports findings of an exploratory study conducted to determine an association between academic and non-academic factors and academic success of nursing diploma students in a province of Pakistan. Data were collected from the academic records of a cohort of 628 students. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the predictive association between certain academic and non-academic factors and academic success of the students. Regression models for each of three years were developed. Results indicated academic factors including preadmission qualifications, previous academic performance, academic performance in year one, academic performance in year two and type of school are significantly associated with the academic success of the students. Among non-academic factors, gender and place of domicile were found to be significantly associated with the academic success of the students.

Entry criteria as predictor of performance in an undergraduate nursing degree programme

The Nursing Council of New Zealand recently reviewed the minimum standard entry criteria for acceptance into undergraduate nursing programmes. The Otago Polytechnic School of Nursing in Dunedin felt it timely to explore the relationship between academic performance and entry criteria. The School's entry criteria included a bioscience requirement, which varied from the Nursing Council criteria. This research explored the relationship between entry criteria and academic performance in the first and second year bioscience papers. The sample consisted of 619 academic records of the 1994-2002 graduates from the Degree Programme. The sample was divided into an under 20-age group (n=323) and a 20 and over group (n=296). This division related to a difference in the entry criteria for each of the groups. Chi-square and correlational analyses found a relationship between entry qualifications and students' academic performance in the two papers. The entry criteria had a stronger relationship with the students' performance in the first year bioscience paper than the second year paper. Performance in the first year was predicative of second year performance. Age was also found to be a useful predictor of grades. These findings support the School's Bioscience entry criteria and provide important information for admission committees.

The significance of graduate admission written goal statements

Written goal statements are often required of applicants to nursing graduate programs. There is a lack of data describing the significance of written goal statements, the topics addressed by applicants in their written goal statements, and the relationship between goal statement quality of writing (QOW) and graduate-level coursework. Using content analysis, the written goal statements of 157 graduate students from one Midwestern school of nursing were analyzed for their QOW and for the identification of content categories. Analysis of the goal statements' content categories revealed that applicants tended to focus their writing on the immediate goal of getting admitted to graduate school and on clinical practice issues they felt were important to their desired program major. Data were analyzed to determine the relationship between goal statement content and graduate program major as well as that between QOW and the final grade in a writing-intensive nursing theory course. The results indicated that QOW did not differ by program major and that it was significantly related to the nursing theory final course grade. Implications for graduate nursing education and advanced nursing practice are addressed.

Measuring Critical Thinking in Graduate Education

Accrediting and specialty organizations agree that a master's education expands critical thinking skills gained during undergraduate study, yet a review of literature revealed a lack of research measuring critical thinking of students enrolled in postbaccalaureate education in nursing and other fields. Of 35 studies retrieved, 17 were conducted on undergraduate nursing students, with the remainder spread across practicing RNs, and master's level students in physical therapy, business, medicine, and nursing. A critique of this research and recommendations for future study are presented.

Effectiveness of student admission essays in identifying attrition

Nursing school admission selection processes exist to select the "best and brightest" applicants assuming that those selected will be successful. However, attrition occurs. Effectiveness of grade point averages (GPAs) and test scores have been reported, while the effectiveness of essays in predicting attrition in undergraduate nursing education has not been reported in the literature. For the purposes of this study, attrition was defined as students enrolled in courses following acceptance into the program who did not complete the program. Data from a retrospective longitudinal sample including 236 students from one baccalaureate nursing program were analyzed for differences between students who completed the program ("completers", n=193) and those who dropped out ("non-completers", n=43). t-tests between the group mean essay scores revealed a statistical difference (t=2.092, p=0.043), while there was no statistical difference (t=0.22, p=ns) between the mean admission GPAs of the groups. Content analysis revealed thematic differences in the essays. Non-completers tended to write about nursing as external to themselves, in contrast to the completers who described an internalization of the role. Answers to questions of motivation for entering nursing and personal experience with a nurse may provide helpful information in selecting those students most likely to complete the program.

Preadmission Characteristics of Advanced Practice Nursing Students

PURPOSE

To determine the nature of prerequisite experiences of applicants to nurse practitioner (NP) and certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) programs that faculty believe are necessary for success in graduate nursing programs.

DATA SOURCES

An exploratory descriptive study based on findings from four focus groups of faculty from four different universities and a written survey mailed to program or admissions directors of a random sample of 50% of the 295 credentialed NP or CRNA programs in the United States.

CONCLUSIONS

Themes from the focus groups revealed 20 personal characteristics, 14 professional characteristics, and 9 clinical skills, all of which were used to create a survey instrument. A 33% response rate was achieved (n = 48). Personal characteristics were considered most important, professional characteristics and clinical skills moderately important, and kinds of clinical experience of lesser importance. Length of desired experience ranged from 0 to 5 years, most often 2 years. The most important characteristic under personal was "ethical;" under professional, "clinically competent;" under clinical, "interpersonal communication;" and under clinical experience, "to work in a setting with MD-RN interaction."

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Information from this study may be useful for examining admissions policies of advanced practice graduate programs. Faculty were able to articulate the characteristics, proficiencies, and experiences that are likely to produce success in NP and CRNA programs. These desired characteristics need to be translated into meaningful criteria for admission.