Listening and responding to the voices of Latina prenursing students

To describe how successful Latina prenursing students experience and respond to academic challenges.

Nursing schools are challenged to enhance persistence and graduation rates of Hispanic students to meet the health care needs of the Hispanic population in the United States.

The researcher used private semistructured interviews to explore the lived experiences of six successful Latina students when they encountered academic challenges in prerequisite nursing courses.

Seven superordinate themes emerged through interpretative phenomenological analysis: a) facing academic challenges, b) recognizing emotional response, c) seeking help, d) transcending academic challenges, e) owning knowledge, f) persevering, and g) living out values and beliefs.

Faculty need to recognize and respond to the importance of family, relationships, values, and beliefs to academic success among Latinas. Promoting academic success of Latina prenursing students helps prepare a health care workforce that reflects the population of the United States.