1 in 4 nursing students will drop out of their course, Nursing Standard 2020 has revealed. According to the industry magazine, the average attrition rate, though varying widely between universities, remains at a worrying 25%.
The figures are even more troubling when the uptake on nursing courses has been high. Recent data from the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) showed a record rise of over 23% in nursing student admissions in 2020. This is good news, however it only goes so far towards closing the gap when students leaving their course is higher.
There’s further cause for concern ahead too with changes proposed to current routes of entry to a nursing degree. A 2021 report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) reveals alterations to BTEC assessments and other vocational studies will likely limit options for potential nursing students to gain the qualifications they need to study at degree level.
Why are attrition rates so high in nursing?
Nurses are in demand now more than ever before. Despite the increased recognition of the value of the profession, essential support for nursing students is not being provided.
The COVID-19 crisis has been particularly hard on nursing students. They’ve faced challenges new not only to them but to their profession, creating increased anxiety around their roles. Students have either faced an overwhelming front-line role in a pandemic or seen the shift to remote learning. Both approaches cause universities to face up to the traditional ways they support their nursing students, and there’s a huge risk to progression if they fail to deliver.
What can be done to increase engagement?
To find out more about the problem, at Solutionpath we studied student engagement data from three UK Higher Education Nursing providers, each with varying numbers of enrolled students. We wanted to see if our StREAM student engagement platform could successfully identify the students ‘at-risk’ of withdrawal before they left their nursing studies.
We processed the data via StREAM to create an engagement profile. Using our tried and tested methodology, we assigned an engagement category to each student. By identifying those at both higher and lower progression risks, we could clearly see the levels of engagement for the students who went on to withdraw from their course.
How can StREAM highlight at-risk students?
Across all three universities assessed, StREAM identified over 90% of withdrawn students as part of an ‘at-risk’ category. Proving that engagement is an effective method of identifying risk in nursing courses.
Comparing students is key to understand overall engagement. The StREAM platform also revealed how withdrawn students were spending a greater number of days in the at-risk category than those students who went on to progress. From this, it’s clear low engagement is an early warning sign. It’s a crucial way to identify student nurses who may withdraw from their courses, showing you when it’s vital to step in and provide the necessary support students need to help them progress.
Reducing attrition rate in nursing courses is more crucial than ever. To find out more about how StREAM can help you, request a demo of the platform by emailing nursing@solutionpath.co.uk.
Learn more about how we gathered and measured the data we used in our Attrition in Nursing case study.
1 in 4 nursing students will drop out of their course, Nursing Standard 2020 has revealed. According to the industry magazine, the average attrition rate, though varying widely between universities, remains at a worrying 25%. The figures are even more troubling when the uptake on nursing courses has been high. Recent data from the […]
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FAQs
Why are attrition rates so high in nursing? Nurses are in demand now more than ever before. Despite the increased recognition of the value of the profession, essential support for nursing students is not being provided. The COVID-19 crisis has been particularly hard on nursing students.
What is the most common reason for baccalaureate nursing students to leave nursing programs? ›
Perception of lacking the psychological, physical and practical resources needed to successfully cope with both nursing school and the nursing profession.
What is a normal attrition rate for nursing school? ›
According to the National League of Nurses, 20% of nursing students drop out. There are several reasons for that statistic, including: Unsustainable student debt. High academic demands.
What is the number one reason for failure in nursing school? ›
Some of the common reasons nurses drop out of nursing school include poor time management skills, overwhelming stress, bad study habits, and difficulty taking the new NCLEX-style questions on exams.
What is the most challenging part of being a nursing student? ›
Time Management. One of the most common challenges that you will face as a student nurse is maintaining a balance between your studies and your personal life.
What percentage of nursing students fail? ›
On average, 20% of nursing students drop out of nursing school, according to the National League of Nursing. A majority of students pass nursing school, and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission set the desirable retention rate at 80%.
Why are nursing schools turning away students? ›
Staffing shortages are the main reason why nursing schools are not able to accept more students who want to become registered nurses. The programs are contending with a lack of faculty, clinical placements for students and preceptors who supervise the students during their rotations at health care providers.
What is an acceptable attrition rate in a study? ›
A rule of thumb states that <5% attrition leads to little bias, while >20% poses serious threats to validity. While this is useful, it is important to note that even small proportions of patients lost to follow-up can cause significant bias.
What is attrition in nursing? ›
Definition: Number of nurses who has left the local health workforce due to retirement, death, outmigration or resignation in a given period of time.
What is student attrition rate? ›
An attrition rate measures the number of students who leave a program before actually completing the program. Currently, of the approximate 2 million students that attend college each fall in the United States, only 54.8% of them graduate according to the NSCR.
After growing for 20 years, the number of students in entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs fell 1.4% last year, according to data released this week by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Enrollment also fell 9.4% in master's nursing programs and 4.1% in Ph. D. nursing programs.
Why nursing school is the hardest? ›
The main reason people ask, “is nursing school hard?” is because of the course material. Nursing school involves learning complicated concepts and practical skills, then applying that information to diverse patient care scenarios — going well beyond memorizing facts.
What is the hardest thing about nursing school? ›
One of the reasons why nursing school is hard is that nursing students need to manage multiple academic responsibilities at the same time. As a nursing student, you'll not only need to do well on exams, but you'll also need to develop hands-on skills, communication skills, and bedside nursing skills.
What are the factors affecting nursing students? ›
In nursing, factors such as the terminology, the academic workload, and the responsibility or human life in the clinical field place enormous stress on the student and can affect their academic performance (Alden 2008:63).
What is the hardest class in BSN? ›
Hardest Nursing School Classes
- Pathophysiology. In this course, students learn how different anatomical systems work and how diseases or injuries affect these systems. ...
- Pharmacology. ...
- Medical Surgical 1 (also known as Adult Health 1) ...
- Evidence-Based Practice.
Not managing your time effectively. Documenting with too many details or duplicate charting in flowsheets and notes. Difficulty prioritizing tasks or attempting to complete too many tasks at once. A lack of clinical experience, which may apply to recent graduates or new nurses.
Is a baccalaureate in nursing worth it? ›
Your nursing career will benefit greatly from having a BSN. Earning a BSN is a wise move to make on your professional path as a nurse. It is associated with improved patient outcomes, a higher salary, and expanded job opportunities.
Should the entry into nursing practice be the baccalaureate degree? ›
The education of professional nurses must take place in institutions of higher learning with a bachelor of science in nursing degree required for beginning professional practice.
Why is baccalaureate nursing important? ›
While several degree options that grant entry into the nursing profession exist, the BSN is the one that opens the most doors. That's because it goes beyond basic nursing knowledge, taking a deeper dive into health policy, research and evidence-based practice and leadership development.
