The graduate record examination: help or hindrance in nursing graduate school admissions?

Do graduate record examination (GRE) scores serve as strong predictors of student success in graduate school in nursing, and if so, is the extent to which they may indicate success outweighed by their perceived role as a barrier to application to graduate school in nursing? Academic ability, defined as cumulative grade point average (GPA), was used as the outcome indicator for success in graduate school and was compared with admission GRE scores for 217 students admitted to graduate programs at the University of Washington School of Nursing over a 1-year period. The GRE presented a large barrier to application that far outweighed the limited benefit of predicting 5% to 8% of explained variance in GPA.

Essential qualifications for nursing students.

Course objectives do not always support grading or evaluation decisions when a student demonstrates poor judgment or disrespectful interactions with others in clinical settings, classrooms, and program-related activities. Instructor attempts to help a student identify, reflect upon, and correct an inappropriate behavior are often awkward, avoided altogether, or lack an articulated set of standards to which both student and instructor can refer. Yet qualifications such as sound judgment and sensitive communication skills are essential in the provision of quality nursing care.