Honors and Nursing: Reasons for Enrollment, Persistence, and Withdrawal.

Background: The intertwining of honors within collegiate nursing education can be rewarding and challenging for students. This study examined why students enroll in honors, why students persist in honors, why some students withdraw from honors, and what resources are beneficial to honors success.

Method: An online survey was sent to 130 nursing students enrolled in an honors program at one midwestern university.

Results: Forty-six nursing students completed the survey. Students indicated they enrolled in honors programs to attend classes with fewer students, to achieve Honors College Distinction, and to gain skills in professionalism and leadership. Reasons for withdrawal from honors included lack of time, increased workload, and added stress.

Conclusion: Nursing students face many challenges in successful completion of an honors program. The results from this study led to the development of , a resource for nursing honors students at the university. .