ACADEMIC CORRELATES OF PERFORMANCE ON THE NCLEX-RN EXAMINATION FOR NURSING STUDENTS IN AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE VERSUS A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE PROGRAM (REGISTERED NURSES).
Contributors: University of Kansas.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 242
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Demand for nursing services commands the nation's attention. Vacancy rate for Registered Nurses more than doubled between 1985 and 1986. In fact, eighty-seven percent of the hospitals reported extreme difficulty with recruitment of both new and experienced nurses. Awareness of the factors which predict National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) may provide additional motivation for graduates to prepare for the examination thus increasing the possibility of early licensure and entry into the job market. In order to facilitate this identification the performance of associate degree graduates and baccalaureate degree graduates were studied.

Data were gathered for 292 graduates who took the NCLEX-RN for the first time between 1986 and 1988. The focus of the study was to: (1) compare fundamental and Advanced Medical Surgical grades between ADN and BSN graduates; (2) establish the relationship between predictor or independent variables including preadmission criteria and the dependent variables, the NCLEX-RN scores, and nursing course GPA for associate degree and baccalaureate degree nursing graduates; and (3) determine the relationship between ADN and BSN predictor or dependent variable, the NCLEX-RN score, nursing course GPA, and age. The data base included, NCLEX-RN scores, selected grade point averages, nursing and cognate course grades, National League for Nursing Achievement Test scores, mean scores on scholastic aptitude test, and age.

The analysis included descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance, analysis of co-variance, basic regression, multiple regression, and correlation. Graduates from both programs who passed the licensure examination had: (1) higher mean raw scores on the National League for Nursing Achievement Test, higher mean scores on aptitude test, higher grade averages in Family and Mental Health Nursing courses, and higher nursing grade point averages.

Comparison of program data showed no significant difference in ADN and BSN Advanced Medical Surgical Grades, nursing course GPA, and age. The t-value showed a significant difference between the ADN and BSN graduates' Foundation of Nursing grade. The ADN mean grade was 3.35 and the BSN mean grade was 2.87. Also, the t-value showed a significant difference between the ADN graduates' NCLEX-RN score and the BSN graduates' NCLEX-RN score. The mean for the ADN program graduate was 1935.96 whereas the mean for the BSN program graduate was 2023.40.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: B, page: 1739.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, 1989.

School code: 0099.