Pathways to Progress: Academic Support for Students in Nursing Education Programs

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics ( 2015) projects needs of the RN workforce over the next decade to increase 16% by 2024. Nursing education programs are working to meet the needs of society and are addressing factors contributing to student success in nursing programs. Academic Support Programs (ASP) not only influence program retention and enrollment but have the potential to address the ongoing nursing shortage. The literature supports the advantages of ASP and identifies a variety of factors and strategies for success which include: counselling, tutoring, mentoring and coaching activities. Freeman & All (2017) identified that students may not comprehend the challenges associated with nursing education programs and as a result are not able to recognize their learning needs in sufficient time to achieve academic success in a course. When nursing educators teach students how to learn, the students acquire new strategies to be successful. Beauvais et al ( 2014) identifies that classroom techniques empower students and may result in academic success. The intent of this presentation is to demonstrate that teaching/learning practices which reinforce student success have the potential to promote retention in nursing programs.

This poster presents the approach of a comprehensive ASP used at a university and provides preliminary outcome data supporting student role development for success. The presentation describes a strategy offered by a university to students who repeated a nursing course due to a failing course grade. Students register for a 3 credit course: Pathways to Progress and take this course concurrently while they repeat the failed nursing course. The Pathways to Progress course reinforces, guides and supports the student to acquire and apply academic skills, strategies to increase confidence levels, study skills and test takings skills. This poster will present course and program outcomes, retention rates, graduation rates & NCLEX outcomes in the student population who failed one nursing course. Outcomes demonstrate the value of additional academic support programs to impact student success and retention.