Administrators of nursing programs in community colleges are aware of the need to retain and to graduate students to meet the growing demand for licensed practical nurses (LPNs). High attrition in a 2-year nursing program in South Carolina affected the number of students either graduating as a LPN after completing the third semester, or continuing in the program to become a registered nurse (RN). Guided by Jeffreys's nursing undergraduate retention and success model, this causal comparative study investigated the differences between students who were and were not successful in the initial 3 semesters of the program. Archival student records for all students entering fall 2012 through fall 2013 (n = 373) were analyzed using multiple ordinal logistic regression. The independent variables were demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity), admissions qualifications (SAT/ACT scores, prior degree, or pre-nursing certificate), and academic performance (GPA in prerequisite courses, final course grades, and Kaplan standardized test scores). The dependent measure, student success, was defined by Jeffreys's pathways: attrition, failure, and retention (interim or continuous). Data analysis indicated GPA in prerequisite courses and grade in the first medical-surgical course were significant factors in predicting students successfully passing the initial 3 semesters. There were no other significant findings. Findings were incorporated into a recommendation for a policy change to increase the prerequisite GPA admissions requirement. Implications for social change include increased retention and graduation rates, thus preparing more students to enter the workforce as LPNs and contribute to reducing the nursing shortage.

Twenty percent of Hispanic nursing students at a west coast university are being dismissed from the nursing program due to repeated failures in nursing courses. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of Hispanic nursing students' experiences of successfully completing a nursing program, earning a baccalaureate of science degree, and passing the state licensing examination for registered nurses despite having failed a nursing course and having been placed on academic probation. Guided by Tinto's theory of academic integration, a descriptive phenomenological design was used to explore Hispanic nursing graduates' success experiences. Purposive sampling was used to select a representative sample of 6 Hispanic registered nurses who achieved success after academic failure in the nursing program. Data were collected through 5 face-to-face interviews and 1 telephone interview. Giorgi's steps for data analysis were used to create a meaning structure of the success experience. Findings from analysis of the data revealed that the general structure of the phenomenon of achieving academic success is a process that occurs in 3 distinct successive stages: despair, self-reflection, and change. During the self-reflection stage, a pivotal turning point was the recapture of the dream to become a nurse. These findings lead to the preparation of a professional development workshop that may acquaint educators with the stages of the success journey for students such as these, and may equip educators with knowledge and skills to intervene to support students through the stages of the success journey. Positive social change may result from educators effectively guiding nursing students to achieve their academic goals and successfully graduate from a nursing program.

Introdução: O estágio extracurricular é uma opção de aprendizagem e desenvolvimento de prática profissional, não obrigatório e possibilita a aquisição de conhecimento sobre o campo de trabalho da enfermagem, podendo contribuir para o aprimoramento da formação dos alunos de graduação em enfermagem. Considerando o impacto que o estágio extracurricular possui para os esses alunos, esta pesquisa torna-se importante para ampliar o conhecimento sobre esta prática. Objetivos: Caracterizar o estágio extracurricular na perspectiva dos estagiários; descrever e analisar as experiências vividas pelos egressos do programa de estágio extracurricular a partir de pressupostos de Pierre Bourdieu. Método: Este estudo é de natureza histórico-social, qualitativa e exploratória. A coleta de dados foi realizada a partir de entrevistas com os egressos do programa de estágio extracurricular do Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, obtidas por meio da técnica Snowball Sampling. Esta instituição oferece o estágio extracurricular há muitos anos e tem aprimorado o programa ao longo do tempo. Foi utilizado o método da História Oral Temática para realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas, e a análise temática estabelecida por Minayo, que permitiu realizar uma reflexão geral sobre a apreensão da significação de textos produzidos. O referencial teórico de Pierre Bourdieu foi utilizado para análise dos resultados, permitindo a compreensão das relações sociais, analisando o campo social e o habitus que são incorporados pelos indivíduos e que são direcionados por um simbolismo intencional que determina o que Bourdieu denomina de \"violência simbólica\". Resultados: Foram entrevistadas 12 egressas do programa de estágio extracurricular entre os anos de 1979 a 1993. Emergiram das entrevistas, três categorias compostas por 10 subcategorias: Categoria 1. Motivação para o estágio extracurricular: a aquisição de capitais, retrata os principais motivos que levaram as participantes a procurarem o estágio extracurricular durante a graduação de enfermagem. Categoria 2. O estágio extracurricular: descrevendo o campo social, descreve, sob o ponto de vista das participantes, como era o estágio extracurricular no período analisado e como este campo social permitia a incorporação de novos habitus. Categoria 3: A percepção do estágio extracurricular para o egresso, nesta categoria emergiram diversos significados sobre a percepção que as egressas tinham em relação ao estágio extracurricular. Conclusão: Esta pesquisa possibilitou ampliar o conhecimento a respeito da história do estágio extracurricular em enfermagem, especialmente no Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, cenário escolhido, além de caracterizá-lo, sob a óptica de egressas que participaram do programa, no contexto analisado. Dentre os principais achados destaca-se a influência que o estágio extracurricular pode exercer sobre o desenvolvimento de competências comportamentais que são projetadas pela instituição, e que podem definir a aquisição de um dos troféus deste campo social, que é a contratação profissional do estagiário, ao término do programa. A possibilidade de inserção profissional e a influência do estágio extracurricular para a trajetória profissional são outros pontos que se destacaram, pois evidenciam o quanto o estágio pode facilitar a transição entre a escola e a vida profissional dos alunos de graduação em enfermagem. / Introduction. Extracurricular training is an option to learn and develop the professional practice. It is not mandatory and enables knowledge acquisition about the work in the nursing field, and may contribute to the improvement of undergraduate nursing students. Considering the impact that the extracurricular stage has on these students, this research becomes important to increase the knowledge about this practice. Objectives. To analyze the experiences lived by the extracurricular internship program egresses according the assumptions of Pierre Bourdieu. Method. Present study is of historical and social, qualitative and exploratory nature. Data collection, were based on interviews with the undergraduates of the extracurricular training program of the German Hospital Oswaldo Cruz, obtained through the Snowball Sampling technique. This institution offers the extracurricular internship for many years and has enhanced the program over time. The Thematic Oral History method was used to conduct semi-structured interviews and the thematic analysis established by Minayo who allowed performing a general reflection on the apprehension of the produced texts meaning. The theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu was applied for results analysis, allowing the understanding of social relationships, analyzing the social field and the habitus that are incorporated by the individuals and that are directed by an intentional symbolism that determines what Bourdieu called as \"symbolic violence\". Results. Twelve egressed students of the extracurricular internship program between 1979 and 1993 were interweaved. Three categories comprised of 10 subcategories emerged from the interviews: Category 1. Motivation for the extracurricular stage: the capital acquisition depicts the main reasons that led the participants to seek the extracurricular training during the nursing graduation: Category 2. The extracurricular stage: depicts the social field from the point of view of the participants; how the extracurricular stage was like during this period and how the social field allowed the incorporation of the new habitus. Category 3. The perception of the extracurricular stage for the egressed students. In this category, several meanings emerged about the perception that the egresses had due to the extracurricular stage. Conclusion. This study allows extending the knowledge about the history of extracurricular training course in nursing, especially in the German Hospital Oswaldo Cruz, the chosen scenario. In addition, characterize it from the perspective of the egressed students who participated in the program, in the analyzed context. Among the main findings, we highlight the influence that the extracurricular stage can exert on the development of behavioral skills designed by the institution, and which can define the acquisition of one of the awards in this social field, which is the professional hiring of the trainee at the end of the program. The possibility of professional insertion and the influence of extracurricular internship to the professional career are other highlighted points since it is evident how much the internship can facilitate the transition between the school and the professional life of undergraduate students in nursing.

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

AIM The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that may have contributed to absenteeism among bursary students undertaking a four-year Nursing Diploma course (R425), and the extent to which these factors impacted on students’ absenteeism at a selected nursing campus in KwaZulu-Natal. METHODOLOGY The study adopted a quantitative approach, utilizing a non –experimental descriptive design. Data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires consisting of closed and open-ended questions. Data analyses were done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21(SPSS- 21). One hundred and twenty-six bursary students from the first year to the third year of training participated in the study. FINDINGS The study revealed that absenteeism at the nursing campus under study existed at all levels of student training, and that it occurred more in the clinical area than in the college area. Clinical factors identified included escorting very ill patients without indemnity, working late shifts (19h00) before a day off, allocation to one work area without rotation, and a lack of appreciation for a job well done and criticism. College factors such as stipend, transport problems, and lecturers and their teaching methods did not have any impact on student absenteeism. / M.N. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

The purpose of this study was to determine which academic and demographic factors predict students' achievement in the nursing major of a baccalaureate program. Records of 128 full time subjects were examined to extract the factors selected to be included in the analysis.Data pertaining to each independent variable were organized into three distinct groups based on the known performance of each subject following certification. One group passed all course work in the nursing major; one group failed one or more courses in the nursing major delaying completion; and one group was no longer enrolled. To investigate the differences in the group membership, discriminant function analyses were performed to examine academic and demographic predictors. A classification technique was utilized to test the adequacy of each discriminant function analysis. All classification analyses were 72.3 percent and above in probability level.Two null hypotheses guided this study: Hypothesis I proposed that academic factors do not predict attrition and/or retention in a baccalaureate nursing program; and Hypothesis II proposed that demographic factors do not interact with academic factors in predicting success. Hypothesis I was rejected , and Hypothesis II was not fully accepted based on discriminant function analyses.The following conclusions were identified from the findings of this study:1. Grade point averages in the required prerequisite courses predicted group membership (achievement) in the nursing major.2. Grade point averages of 3.0 during progression in the nursing major predicted membership in a group defined as continuing successfully in the first attempt of course work and graduating on time.3. Grade point averages of less than 3.0 following the first semester in the nursing major predicted membership in a group defined as failing at least one course, or perhaps predict membership in a group that will experience attrition.4. Ethnicity made a significant contribution with academic factors to predicting group membership for achievement.These results suggest that nursing educators and counselors need to consider the importance of not only closely monitoring each subject's semester grade point average, but also referring the identified problem to the appropriate service provider for intervention.3 / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1988.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1988.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1997. / Title from title page screen, viewed June 2, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Larry Kennedy (chair), John Goeldi, Barbara Nourie, William Tolone. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-90) and abstract. Also available in print.

There is increasing concern that newly qualified registered nurses (RNs) find it difficult to make a smooth transition from completing their four-year nursing training to taking up their posts as first time RNs. In a constantly changing healthcare system, these newly qualified RNs are expected to work independently and be competent in applying the decision making and problem-solving skills gained during their training. While certain aspects of clinical incompetence may be ascribed to individual factors, the importance of the clinical learning environment and its influence on the development of clinical competence cannot be ignored. Nurses need support and guidance to effect a successful transition from being novice to competent nurse and the environment is regarded as important in developing technical competencies. The research study followed a positivistic, quantitative paradigm, where the hypothesized relationship between clinical learning environmental factors and clinical competence of newly qualified RNs were explored. Data was collected from the experienced RNs in the hospitals by means of a structured pre-existing questionnaire, namely the Competency Inventory for Registered Nurses (CIRN). Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. The analysed data was used to describe the findings. Recommendations were made based on the findings. Results suggested that the development of clinical competence is dependent on both the individual and context. Positive relations were reported between clinical learning environmental factors and clinical competencies.