The Journal of the New York State Nurses Association, Volume 48, Number 2

Nursing Students’ Experiences on NCLEX-RN Preparation Susan Joseph, PhD, RN, CNE

n A bstract Nursing educators have a crucial responsibility for maintaining first-time National Council of Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) pass rates and reducing the impact of a national nursing shortage. A qualitative multiple case study was conducted to explore nursing students’ experiences on NCLEX-RN preparation, including learning styles and approaches. Data were collected from nine associate degree nursing (ADN) graduates as three cases defined by years of graduation from 2011 to 2013. Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was used to explore the learning styles. Eight major themes emerged from the study, including learning approaches and learning styles that were used by students for NCLEX-RN preparation. Nursing students that passed NCLEX-RN on their first attempt had a deeper learning approach. Also, the specific Kolb’s learning styles of diverging, converging, and assimilating were helpful to students in passing the NCLEX-RN on their first attempt. This study provides information for nurse educators and leaders that can be used to improve NCLEX-RN pass rates. Keywords: First time NCLEX pass rate, student nurse learning style, Kolb's learning style, nurse education

Introduction Maintaining first-time National Council of Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) pass rates at or above the national average is a major challenge for nursing schools nationally. Both a school’s first-time pass rate and accreditation status of their nursing program are affected when a nursing student becomes unsuccessful on the NCLEX-RN (Hinderer et al., 2014; Homard, 2013). Studies have shown that most strategies to improve the NCLEX-RN outcome are the result of data gathered from the perspectives of faculty members rather than data that explore how students prepare for the licensure examination (Koestler, 2015; Schroeder, 2013). Student perspectives are fundamental aspects for program effectiveness and can be different from faculty perspectives in many areas, especially in preparation for the licensure examination. Given the problem of low NCLEX-RN pass rates and its contribution to ineffective program outcomes and the subsequent jeopardization of accreditation status, nursing shortage increases, and a weakened workforce, attention needed to be given to exploring nursing students’ experiences on preparation for licensure, including their learning styles and approaches. The chosen research location was a hospital-based nursing school in the Northeastern region of the United States with five consecutive years

of low NCLEX-RN pass rates, beginning from 2008, that jeopardized its accreditation status. Though the reason for the low pass rates was unclear, educators had implemented changes in different areas such as increasing the passing grades, reducing student enrollment, and offering remediation for students. A multiple case study was undertaken to explore NCLEX-RN preparation experiences from the students’ perspectives. Two research questions (RQs) guided the study: RQ1. What are the perceptions and experiences of associate degree nursing (ADN) graduates with learning approaches used to prepare for the NCLEX-RN? RQ2. What are the perceptions and experiences of ADN graduates with learning styles used to prepare for the NCLEX-RN?

Method Literature Review To identify the preferred learning styles and explore the students’ experiences on NCLEX-RN preparation, a comprehensive literature review was conducted for peer-reviewed articles categorized by main themes into NCLEX-RN examination, nursing workforce, strategies to promote

Susan Joseph PhD, RN, CNE Montefiore School of Nursing, Mount Vernon, New York Journal of the New York State Nurses Association, Volume 48, Number 2

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