Examining Admission Factors Predicting Success in a Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

Graduate nursing programs are challenged to select students who are likely to succeed and who add to nursing workforce diversity.

For this retrospective study, researchers examined 5 years of admission and retention data from a 4-year Bachelor-to-Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program (n=144) at a large public midwestern university. Using a multinomial logistic regression analysis, four factors were examined to determine which predicted student success, delayed success, or failure: last 60-credit grade point average (GPA), admission essay score, average recommendation letter score, and demographic data (i.e., race, age, gender).

GPA, age, and race were found to be significant predictors of student outcomes in this program. Writing and recommendation scores and gender did not predict student outcomes.

DNP admission committees should consider the weight given to the GPA in their admission formulas and be prepared to work with retention committees to support older and minority students. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(1):49-52.].