Analyzing student complaints against nursing programs: taxonomies of complaints and outcomes

National accrediting organizations require that complaints against nursing programs receive careful review consistent with policies, established systems, and continuous quality improvement approaches. Program administrators must manage complaints equitably and professionally so that the conduct of programs does not violate programs' and accrediting organizations' standards or procedures. This descriptive study analyzed a convenience sample (N = 98) of complaints submitted by undergraduate and graduate nursing students attending an urban, private university and by students' parents. After establishing interrater reliability of the coding scheme, investigators established taxonomic domains of type of complaints, complaint outcomes, and complainants. Undergraduate nursing students made the most complaints; failure and dismissal from the program was the most frequent taxon, with grading, teaching, and testing the next highest. Administrator discussion with stakeholders occurred most frequently. The investigators hoped that study results would assist nursing programs to accomplish continuous improvement, to change practices, and possibly to reduce the number of future complaints by early intervention with complainants and process improvement activities.