Student Remediation in Nursing Programs: The Evidence, the Gaps, and New Directions

Nursing programs and faculty have increased pressure to produce safe nursing practitioners and have turned to a variety of tools to facilitate success in NCLEX licensure exams in the United States.  End-of-course and end-of-program standardized testing are tools frequently used to prepare students.  Nursing educators use the results of these tests to remediate student knowledge and critical thinking skills.  Students also gain additional confidence by reviewing test results and planning further study and preparation.  But which strategies are most effective in producing positive outcomes on licensure examinations?  This session will explore evidence-based strategies most effective in preparing students for professional licensure exams.  A comprehensive review of the literature on remediation and student self-confidence will be presented. The role of self-confidence will be highlighted with tactics educators might employ to build self-assurance in graduating nursing students. Finally, the session will review gaps in the literature and suggest future directions for nursing research.  Participants in this session will leave with an understanding of what is known about remediation of nursing students in preparation for nursing licensure examinations and what is left to be addressed.