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Published on: June 21, 2010
Conceptual Model for Predicting Academic Success in Prelicensure Nursing Programs Through Expanded Cognitive Aptitude
Julie Twidwell1, Ericka Sanner-Stiehr, Kimberly Allen
1Author Affiliations: Undergraduate Program Director (Dr Twidwell), Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau; Assistant Professor (Dr Sanner-Stiehr), PhD Program Director (Dr Records), and Associate Professor (Dr Hsueh), University of Missouri-St Louis; and Assistant Academic Vice President (Dr Allen), Maryville University, St Louis, Missouri.
Background:
Attrition from prelicensure nursing programs is a serious issue with implications for students, nursing programs, and the nursing workforce. Academic failure due to insufficient cognitive aptitude often contributes to this problematic attrition rate. Thus, cognitive aptitude could be included in admission criteria, as a predictor of academic success and a strategy to minimize attrition.
Problem:
Currently, admissions practices are often incomplete and lack standardization for measuring cognitive aptitude.
Approach:
The Nursing Cognitive Aptitude Model (NCAM) presented in this article is an innovative conceptual model to guide educators in expanding current admissions processes.
Conclusion:
The NCAM model depicts the cognitive domains involved in student academic success including current scholastic knowledge, previous academic performance, and critical-thinking ability. Together, these three domains predict student academic success and are a useful reference for the admissions process.
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