Nursing student attrition and implications for pre-admission advisement

The current shortage of nurses and the decreasing student applicant pool supports the need for institutions of higher education to examine the problem of nursing student attrition and possible solutions. This study surveyed 227 non-returning students to identify attrition factors. The results implicate problems with class scheduling, inadequate financial resources, and employment responsibilities. Twenty four nursing faculty members were additionally surveyed to identify factors. The faculty respondents target poor study skills as the primary problem, a finding not agreed on by the former students. These identified problem areas implicate inadequate preadmission advisement. Students should be made aware of the personal and financial costs of a nursing education prior to admission. Preadmission advising that provides an applicant with a more complete understanding of the nursing educational process may help prevent student attrition and the loss of new nurses to the profession.