The effect of medical mathematics retention strategies in decreasing attrition rate among African American licensed practical nursing students in a community college.

Abstract: Background: This education evidence based study examined African American students entering the Practical Nursing program and the strategies of medical mathematics bridge and tutoring programs to reduce attrition. Purpose: To increase retention in the fundamentals of nursing courses, augmenting the program completion rate. Data! Observations: Two groups of students (n = 105) participated for this one-year study over three semesters. Data revealed passing rates of87%-92% for the nursing course and 75%-92% on medical mathematics when consistently attending programs. The attrition rate plummeting to 8%> -34% contrasting previous years 43%-65%.Conclusions: Retention intervention programs can have a positive impact on minority students' academic performanceKey Words: Evidence Based Research; Minority Recruitment iRetention; Facilitators and Barriers; Culture; Performance Improvement; Outcome Management; Medication Errors; Health Care DisparityThe population of the United States continues to be more and more culturally diverse. With growing racial and cultural minority populations increasing, nursing education needs to transition effectively to meet the health care needs of individuals whose cultural identities differ from the majority population. One possible solution to this problem is to increase the number of nurses who are themselves from these minority diverse racial and ethnic populations. Upon entering a nursing program, the students must be equipped with a high school diploma or equivalent and should have the foundation to ensure future success in this rigorous program. While the solution may sound easy, in reality it is more complicated than it appears to be. Our multicultural melting pot does not make all students equal.According to a report by the New York State Board of Regents (2001), the nursing field is lacking in racial and ethnic diversity. Minorities remain underrepresented but more importantly there is a shortage of providers. This results in a disparity in health care delivery among the rapidly growing minority population in the United States. The federal government is constantly statistics regarding diversity in nursing Minorities are underrepresented in nursing, found to be 13% compared to 28% of the general population. The largest ethnic groups represented in the 13% minorities are: 5% Black/African American, 4% Asian and 2% Hispanic (New York State Board of Regents, 2001).Childs, Jones, and Cook (2004) discussed the federal government's role toward the effects of diversity in nursing. The federal government has taken action since the 1960s to address the rising minority population and the disparity with the low numbers of minority nurses. However, there has also been a high attrition rate among minority nursing students because there was no plan to assist them witn their studies. In order for this trend to be reversed, retention initiatives must be implemented.BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYEvery year in the Practical Nursing program at a community college, approximately 50% of the students enrolled in the first three courses rail, are dismissed, or drop out due to failing grades. The reason for this low retention rate stems from the students having difficulty with passing the course exams, which encompass both a nursing theory component and medical math. The Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program at the college of interest is made up of eight courses. The first three courses comprise a triad and are considered the fundamentals of me nursing program.The nursing faculty reviewed prior class grades and noted an alarming trend. Those who passed the initial three nursing fundamental courses ana advanced to the fourth course continued to be successful in subsequent nursing courses and ultimately graduated. Review of the data revealed the following retention rates: Spring 2003:50%; Fall 2003:57%; Spring 2004:35.7%; Fall 2004: 37.5%; Spring 2005: 48%; Fall 2005: 43%; Spring 2006: 42%; Fall 2006:47%. …