A scoping review of admission criteria and selection methods in nursing education

Nursing education institutions are required to select and train applicants who have appropriate characteristics for delivering effective healthcare. Unlike other healthcare professions and despite the need to attract and select a competent workforce, there has been no comprehensive analysis of the selection criteria and methods used to recruit nursing students. As there is relatively limited prior research available, we conducted a scoping review to explore and synthesise the existing evidence regarding admission criteria and selection methods of nursing students and for the purpose of identifying an agenda for future research in this field.

Our scoping review follows the Arksey and O'Malley five-step proposition including identifying the research question and relevant studies, study selection, tabulation of data, and summarizing and reporting the results. Seven databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, ERIC, SID, Irandoc and PsycINFO) were searched systematically using relevant keywords. Articles on admission of undergraduate nursing students published in both English and/or Persian from 2006 to 2019 were retrieved.

Existing research evidence suggests that nursing students are largely selected on the basis of two criteria - "cognitive-academic abilities" and "non-cognitive abilities." Cognitive-academic abilities were assessed in four main dimensions of mathematics, language, natural sciences and reasoning skills mainly through standardized tests and academic records. Our review shows a wide range of non-cognitive characteristics are evaluated in nursing applicants including: morality, interpersonal communication skills and psychological strength. The selection method most commonly used to assess characteristics was through interviews (panel interviews or multiple mini interviews). Other methods included references, personal statements and personality assessment tools.

This is the first scoping review of literature regarding nursing education selection and recruitment. Results can be used to inform nursing education policymakers and institutions in the design of their selection practices. Future research should concentrate on the evaluation and improvement methods of student selection including content and predictive validity analysis of multiple mini interview and standardized tests, development of cost-effective selection methods and job analysis studies to identify specific non-cognitive characteristics for nursing.