Date of Award
3-1-1988
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Peter K. Mills
Committee Member
Gaspare Tamburello
Committee Member
Philip H. DeTurk
Keywords
academic achievement, admissions committee, admissions criteria, anesthesia educational programs, capital investment, Charity Hospital, Charity Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesiology, comprehensive examination, correlations, Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, educational cost, graduate level programs, graduate program GPA, human resources, institutional investment, limited admissions, multiple regression, National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology, NCLEX-RN, nurse anesthesiology, nursing education, passage rates, predictor variables, preadmission variables, principles of nursing block, program success, registered nurses, research questions, school counselors, stepwise regression, student achievement, undergraduate GPA, variance analysis, Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology
Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to identify specific preadmission variables and to investigate student achievement while in a graduate level program. This research study establishes research-based admission criteria that can be used as standards for admitting students into the Charity Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesiology. Investigation in these areas focused on student success in the program and passage of the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology.
The cost of education, in terms of student expense and institutional investment, necessitate the need to identify admission variables that predict success in the program. Due to the policy of limited admissions by Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology, each place occupied by an unsuccessful student must necessarily be denied to a potentially successful applicant. Failure in such a program represents a tremendous waste of human resources and capital investment.
Eight research questions were addressed in this research study and were studied by comparison of the variables for admission and achievement on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology. These research questions are the following: 1. Is the undergraduate GPA significantly related to GPA at Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology? 2. Is the undergraduate GPA significantly related to scores on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology for graduates from the Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology?. 3. Is the score on the National Council License Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) significantly related to scores on the National Certification Examination in Anesthesiology for graduates from the charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology? 4. Is the GPA during the charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology graduate program significantly related to score on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology? 5. Is the score on the comprehensive examination given at the end of the first and second year in the graduate program at Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology significantly related to scores on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology for graduates from this program? 6. Can a significant amount of the variance in performance in the Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology program be predicted from indicators of performance in undergraduate programs of nursing? 7. Can a significant amount of the variance in performance on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology be predicted from indicators of performance in undergraduate programs in nursing? 8. Can a significant amount of the variance in performance on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology be predicted from indicators of performance in the Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology?
The population for this research study was 1985 and 1986 graduates from the Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology. Data were collected from the files of these graduates and their individual scores on the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology were obtained for analysis. The variables for each individual in this study were analyzed by correlations, multiple regressions, and stepwise regressions. The results from this investigation revealed that total undergraduate GPA in the principles of nursing block was the most significant predictor of success in the Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology. This study also revealed that total undergraduate GPA, undergraduate GPA in the principles of nursing block, NCLEX-RN, and score on the Second Year Comprehensive Examination were predictors of National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology scores. The NCLEX-RN was the best predictor of the National Certification Examination in Nurse Anesthesiology, accounting for over seventy eight percent of the variance.
There were several recommendations from this research study that have implications for the admissions criteria at the Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology and other graduate level programs in nurse anesthesiology. It was recommended that the Admissions Committee at Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology and school counselors utilize the results from this study in the admissions process and counseling of students. It was further recommended that this study be replicated in other geographical areas and with other predictor variables. The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs was provided the results from this study in future planning for establishing admissions criteria to schools of nurse anesthesiology.