The Meaning of Grades: Stories of Undergraduate, Master's, and Doctoral Nursing Students.

Background: Although the literature is replete with information about grades, there is a lack of empirical evidence about the meaning of grades to nursing students.

Purpose: This study sought to understand the meaning of grades for nursing students at all educational levels.

Method: Using Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology, 46 nursing students from 14 schools were asked to tell about a time that stood out to them when they were graded.

Teacher stories of blame when assigning a failing grade.

Nurse educators are required to routinely evaluate students. While there is a plethora of information in the educational literature about how to write exams, develop rubrics, or evaluate clinical performance, there is a paucity of research related to teachers' experiences of evaluation. Using a Heideggerian hermeneutical approach, this study sought to answer: (1) what are the experiences of nurse educators evaluating nursing students? and (2) what do these evaluative experiences mean to the nurse educator? Thirty nurse educators from 19 undergraduate programs were interviewed for this study.

Helping students who struggle academically: finding the right level of involvement and living with our judgments.

This article addresses findings from a three-year study that examined how teachers help and hinder students who struggle academically. Thirty nurse educators from 18 schools of nursing shared stories of how they helped and hindered their academically at-risk students. Hermeneutical analysis revealed several themes.

A cognitive behavioral course for at-risk senior nursing students preparing to take the NCLEX.

For some nursing students, the stress of preparing for and taking the NCLEX can lead to maladaptive behaviors such as poor test performance and inadequate preparation. A different approach to NCLEX preparation for at-risk seniors is described. A 3-credit course that combines cognitive behavioral techniques, metacognitive strategies, test-taking strategies, and simulated NCLEX experience with practice questions is presented.

Decreasing performance and test anxiety in practicing nurses.

Many nurses are being required to pass competency and certification examinations to keep or advance in their positions. Unfortunately, anxiety often dampens the nurse's ability to demonstrate competence in a particular area of practice. The dimensions of test anxiety are explained, and signs and symptoms are described.

Teachers' stories: how faculty help and hinder students at risk.

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers help and hinder students who struggle academically. Thirty nurse educators from 18 different schools of nursing shared stories of how they helped and hindered their academically at-risk students. Hermeneutic analysis revealed several themes.

Using metacognitive strategies to help students learn in pretest and posttest review.

The authors discuss the use of several metacognitive strategies that can help turn test reviews into an active learning experience. With these strategies, test reviews can provide students with valuable tools to enhance their thinking and help them better prepare for the high-level thinking test questions that are seen on nursing examinations.

Students' stories: how faculty help and hinder students at risk.

Students who are at risk for academic problems and failure are not new to faculty. However, with society's need for competent nurses and fewer students choosing nursing as a career, retention of qualified students remains a priority. Teachers ask, "How can students be enabled to succeed?" Many interventions have been suggested to help the at-risk student, yet rarely are students asked to share what has been helpful for them.

When a GN doesn't become an RN: how the staff educator can help.

With national NCLEX pass rates declining, nursing orientation costs increasing, and the nursing shortage escalating, the trauma that occurs when a graduate nurse fails the NCLEX can be felt reverberating throughout the clinical units. NCLEX failure not only adversely affects the individual who fails but can have a profound effect on staff workload and morale. Staff educators are in a unique position to help the new graduate who has been unsuccessful in passing the NCLEX; however, they may be unsure of how to approach the situation.

Preparing to retake the NCLEX-RN. The experience of graduates who fail.

Many schools of nursing counsel and provide practice sessions to their students in initial preparation for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). What then of the graduates who fail and are now outside of the educational and often supportive environments of schools of nursing? Graduates cannot be employed to practice what they have learned, nor do schools of nursing have the programs to assist graduates who have failed. How can these graduates be enabled to succeed? The authors discuss the stories of 10 graduates who failed the examination and their preparation to retake it.

Sexuality and self-concept: issues in skin disease.

Self-concept is closely tied to feelings of sexuality. Therefore, comprehensive nursing care of patients with skin disorders should include sexuality issues. This article addresses methods of assessment and a variety of interventions in dealing with sexuality and skin disease.

The role of nonacademic variables in passing the National Council Licensure Examination.

This study addressed the relationship between performance on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and differences in test anxiety, cognitions related to testing, and academic performance among 102 senior bachelor's degree nursing students. The study design was correlational and prospective in nature. Test anxiety was measured by the Test Anxiety Inventory; cognitions were measured by the Cognitive Assessment Tool; quality point average and Student Aptitude Test scores measured academic aptitude.