A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NONTRADITIONAL AND TRADITIONAL GRADUATES OF A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM.
Contributors: University Of Tennessee.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 174
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Education.; Education, Higher.
Description: Despite the need for master's prepared nurses, few universities in the United States admit non-nurse college graduates to a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program. Doubt prevails as to whether these non-traditional students can be successful in a program designed to prepare advanced practitioners of nursing and as to their ability to assume the role of the master's prepared nurse in the service setting.

The purpose of this study was to compare non-traditional and traditional graduates of a MSN program in terms of demographic, academic, career, and professional development characteristics. The study population consisted of all 221 (79 non-traditional and 142 traditional) graduates of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing from 1981-1986. Data were collected from each graduate's academic record and responses to a mailed questionnaire. The overall response rate for the questionnaire was 82 percent.

Little or no difference was found between the non-traditional and traditional graduates in terms of (1) academic success in the program, (2) self-perceptions of preparedness to practice within an area of clinical concentration, (3) current participation in the nursing work force, (4) self-perceptions of acceptance from colleagues, superiors, and physicians in current employment settings, (5) graduate degrees received since graduation, and (6) current enrollment in programs leading to an academic degree. Several notable differences between the two groups of graduates were found. Non-traditional graduates as a group were (1) more often single, (2) more often male, (3) younger and, (4) had higher Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores on enrollment in the program. Non-traditional graduates more often chose the Primary Care clinical concentration for study and encountered greater financial difficulty during the program. In terms of employment patterns, more of the non-traditional graduates initially assumed positions as staff nurses in hospitals. At the time of the study, the majority of these graduates were employed as nurse practitioners while the majority of traditional graduates were employed as nursing educators.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-06, Section: B, page: 2343.

Thesis (ED.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, 1989.

School code: 0226.