Factors impacting on Bachelor of Nursing students clinical and academic performance and progression

Nursing is experiencing an international workforce shortage driven in part by an aging population and escalating health care demand. One strategy to combat this workforce shortage has been to increase the number of students entering pre-registration nursing programs. However, the effectiveness of this strategy is dependent on the extent to which nursing students successfully progress to graduation. Driven by the need to improve student success in nursing programs, this longitudinal, descriptive correlational study conducted in an Australian university, sought to examine the factors that influence Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students’ ( n = 139) academic performance, clinical performance and progression. Factors identified as significantly influencing students’ overall academic performance included: first year academic performance, critical thinking skills, personal qualities such as aloofness, involvement with others and self-control, part-time enrolment and class attendance. Only the personal quality traits (self) confidence and to a lesser extent resilience were found to significantly predict students’ clinical performance. Student progress was significantly influenced by the following factors: first year academic performance, critical thinking ability, entry pathway, resilience, part-time enrolment and engagement (with the program). Study results indicate the need for structured support services for first year students, students experiencing course failure and those returning from a leave of absence. Consideration should also be given to the inclusion of pre-existing bioscience knowledge, critical thinking skill and personal qualities measures into student selection procedures. It is considered that these strategies will have a positive influence on student success.