Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations

Introduction. Success in the licensure examination is the only legal prerequisite to practice as a nurse in Ghana. However, a large percentage of nursing students who sit fail this examination for the first time. This study sought to unravel whether prior education, sociodemographic characteristics,...

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Main Authors: Isaac Amankwaa, Anabella Agyemang-Dankwah, Daniel Boateng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
Series:Nursing Research and Practice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/682479
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spelling doaj-532bd5ab38dd4821b16cc58852f5c9b92020-11-24T23:59:33ZengHindawi LimitedNursing Research and Practice2090-14292090-14372015-01-01201510.1155/2015/682479682479Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure ExaminationsIsaac Amankwaa0Anabella Agyemang-Dankwah1Daniel Boateng2Department of Nursing, Garden City University College, Kumasi, GhanaSeventh-day Adventist Hospital, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Community Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaIntroduction. Success in the licensure examination is the only legal prerequisite to practice as a nurse in Ghana. However, a large percentage of nursing students who sit fail this examination for the first time. This study sought to unravel whether prior education, sociodemographic characteristics, and nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) could predict performance in the licensure examinations. Methods. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted from November 2014 to April 2015 in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana on 176 past nursing students. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 22. A logistic regression model was fitted to look at the influence of the explanatory variables on the odds of passing the licensure examinations. All statistical significances were tested at p value of <0.05. Results. Majority, 56.3%, were females and 86.4% were between the ages of 25 and 31 years. Most of the students (88.6%) entered the nursing training colleges with a WASSCE qualification and 38% read general science. 73.9% passed the licensure examinations and the mean CGPA of the students was 2.89 SD=0.37. Sociodemographic characteristics and previous education had no influence on performance in the licensure examinations. CGPA had strong positive relationship with performance in licensure examinations (AOR = 15.27; 95% CI = 6.28, 27.11). Conclusion. Students CGPA could be a good predictor of their performance in the licensure examinations. On the other hand, students’ sociodemographic and previous educational characteristics might not be important factors to consider in admitting students into the nursing training programme.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/682479
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Isaac Amankwaa
Anabella Agyemang-Dankwah
Daniel Boateng
spellingShingle Isaac Amankwaa
Anabella Agyemang-Dankwah
Daniel Boateng
Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations
Nursing Research and Practice
author_facet Isaac Amankwaa
Anabella Agyemang-Dankwah
Daniel Boateng
author_sort Isaac Amankwaa
title Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations
title_short Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations
title_full Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations
title_fullStr Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations
title_full_unstemmed Previous Education, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average as Predictors of Success in Nursing Licensure Examinations
title_sort previous education, sociodemographic characteristics, and nursing cumulative grade point average as predictors of success in nursing licensure examinations
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Nursing Research and Practice
issn 2090-1429
2090-1437
publishDate 2015-01-01
description Introduction. Success in the licensure examination is the only legal prerequisite to practice as a nurse in Ghana. However, a large percentage of nursing students who sit fail this examination for the first time. This study sought to unravel whether prior education, sociodemographic characteristics, and nursing Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) could predict performance in the licensure examinations. Methods. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted from November 2014 to April 2015 in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana on 176 past nursing students. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 22. A logistic regression model was fitted to look at the influence of the explanatory variables on the odds of passing the licensure examinations. All statistical significances were tested at p value of <0.05. Results. Majority, 56.3%, were females and 86.4% were between the ages of 25 and 31 years. Most of the students (88.6%) entered the nursing training colleges with a WASSCE qualification and 38% read general science. 73.9% passed the licensure examinations and the mean CGPA of the students was 2.89 SD=0.37. Sociodemographic characteristics and previous education had no influence on performance in the licensure examinations. CGPA had strong positive relationship with performance in licensure examinations (AOR = 15.27; 95% CI = 6.28, 27.11). Conclusion. Students CGPA could be a good predictor of their performance in the licensure examinations. On the other hand, students’ sociodemographic and previous educational characteristics might not be important factors to consider in admitting students into the nursing training programme.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/682479
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