An epidemiologic approach to addressing student attrition in nursing programs

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• Student attrition in nursing programs presents a persistent challenge for educators and administrators.
• High attrition rates negatively affect the supply of registered nurses crucial for healthcare, administration, and education.
• Limited recent research addresses factors influencing attrition among contemporary nursing students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the applicability of Tinto's student retention model to current undergraduate nursing students.
• To propose an alternative framework for understanding and addressing nursing student attrition.
• To identify intervention points for preventing high attrition rates in nursing programs.

Main Methods:

• Critical review of existing literature on student retention in nursing.
• Analysis of Tinto's model concerning its relevance to contemporary nursing student demographics.
• Conceptualization of an epidemiologic framework for student attrition.

Main Results:

• Tinto's model may not adequately explain attrition patterns in the current nursing student population.
• An epidemiologic framework provides a novel perspective for analyzing student attrition.
• The framework identifies primary, secondary, and tertiary intervention strategies.

Conclusions:

• Rethinking nursing student attrition through an epidemiologic lens is essential.
• Proactive interventions at critical junctures can mitigate high attrition rates.
• This approach supports strategies to improve nursing student retention and the future RN workforce.