Before nursing graduates can practice as a registered nurse, they must successfully pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Low first-time pass rates on this high-stakes test can cause concern for multiple stakeholders including graduate nurses, nursing programs, health care organizations, and society. The…

Nursing educators are challenged to find strategies that will develop critical thinking and clinical judgment abilities in students. As technology has advanced, the use of virtual simulation platforms has increased in use in nursing courses. This study examined the effect of a pilot virtual simulation intervention on critical thinking and clinical…

The world of healthcare is always changing, but the foundation of quality healthcare remains constant, qualified registered nurses. More students enter community colleges than four-year universities in an attempt to become registered nurses. As the need for registered nurses grows, the number of open slots within community college nursing programs…

The nursing shortage is a national issue that has ignited an increasing demand to address the importance of preparing students to be successful on the initial National Council of Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing (NCLEX-RN). Nursing programs are charged by the Board of Nursing to prepare graduates to be successful on the initial…

The purpose of this study was to explore self-efficacy, an individual's beliefs about his or her ability to perform a series of tasks, and emotional intelligence, an individual's ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions, as predictors for successful clinical performance in nursing students. The participants were 49 female and 7…

Overall, too few students are completing two-year college. Those who complete are still starting off unequally. About one-third of students earning academic degrees do not transfer, but rather go directly to work and find their degree has little value in the labor market. Research suggests they could have benefitted from having marketable skills…

The framework for this study used Tinto's (1975) theoretical framework for student persistence and incorporated the examination of high school wealth, the absence of poverty, as measured by the percentage of students receiving Federal Free and Reduced Lunch, along with North Carolina Department of Public School performance measures, academic…

The outcome of Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) students not passing the initial National Council of Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing (NCLEX-RN) can adversely affect schools of nursing. This failure also adversely affects the national nursing shortage. The declining national pass rates on the NCLEX-RN for ADN graduates and the increasing…

Online nursing education has been evolving at a rapid pace as it is recognized as offering the flexibility needed for practicing associate degree (ADN) and diploma prepared Registered Nurses to return to school to earn their BSN. At the same time, there is a paradigm shift in how nursing education is delivered. The focus has shifted from content…

Second degree learners are attending associate (ADN), accelerated baccalaureate (BSN), and entry level masters (ELM) degree nursing programs. There is limited data related to the socio-demographic characteristics and graduation success rates of students attending accelerated BSN or ELM programs and no data related to second-degree learners…

Graduates of associate degree (AD) nursing programs form the largest segment of first-time National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®) test takers, yet also experience the highest rate of NCLEX-RN® failures. NCLEX-RN® failure delays entry into the profession, adding an emotional and financial toll to the unsuccessful…

Nurse education programs are implementing standardized assessments without evaluating their effectiveness. Graduates of associate degree nursing programs continue to be unsuccessful with licensure examinations, despite standardized testing and stronger admission criteria. This problem is also prevalent for LPN-to-RN education programs due to a…

The purpose of this study was to determine if admission selection strategies that utilize cumulative and/or pre-requisite GPA are predictive of timely graduation for associate degree nursing (RN-AD) students. Data were obtained from de-identified records of 437 associate degree nursing students enrolled in three Midwest community colleges from…

The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to investigate variables associated with learning and performance as measured by the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), (2) to validate the predictive value of the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) achievement exit exam, and (3) to provide a model that could…

The purpose of this study was to examine the pathway model of a nursing curriculum and evaluate the relationship and predictive ability of demographic and academic variables on the success or failure of those taking the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®) and to determine the impact of noncognitive role…