Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Joanna Karet

Abstract

New nurse graduates must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in order to achieve nursing licensure. In Northern New Mexico associate degree nursing program with a large disadvantaged student population, the average pass rate for the licensure exam often falls below the state board of nursing mandated 80% pass rate. This study's purpose was to evaluate the effect of an NCLEX remediation program on students' ability to pass the NCLEX, using Knowles adult learning theory to guide this work. The research questions investigated the relation between the remedial instruction and the 2 dependent variables KAPLAN predictor scores and NCLEX pass rates. I used a quantitative non-experimental ex post facto design to contrast 2 purposively sampled student cohorts, the cohort from 2017 that did not participate in the remediation program (N = 14) and the cohort from 2018 that participated in the remediation program (N = 27). A t test for independent samples showed that the KAPLAN exam mean scores were significantly higher (t = 4.81, p < 0.001) for the 2018 cohort (M = 66.49, SD = 8.08) than for the 2017 cohort (M = 55.78, SD = 5.94). The Chi-square test showed that the NCLEX pass rates were independent of the remedial instruction (χ2 = 0.58 , p = 0.45 and χ2 = 0.17, p = 0.68 after the Yates correction). Based on the findings and guided by theory, a policy recommendation was formulated for the nursing department's management. The inconclusive results will generate social change by challenging nursing program leaders to discuss why the pass rates did not increase while the Kaplan predictor scores did. Based on this discussion and further research, the remediation program could be improved.

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