Success Coaching: A Proactive Student Support Strategy

Abstract

Faculty success coaches assist first-semester nursing students in developing, implementing, and evaluating strategic plans to achieve short and long-term goals in nursing. A Nursing Student Success Coaching Program was formally developed in a public east coast university for their Associate Degree Nursing Program. It was driven by the need to prepare the first semester to prepare students for the rigors of undergraduate nursing education. Student retention is the primary concern for all nursing faculty [1]. This impacts healthcare and the financial stability of nursing programs [2]. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified the need to increase the number of graduate nurses [3]. A seven-step success coaching process was created to optimize student success during the first semester of nursing. Students met with their faculty success coach with a minimum recommendation of two sessions. A student success coaching program satisfaction survey was administered to students on the 12 th week of each semester, and results have been trending for eleven consecutive semesters (N=719 first-semester nursing students). Data suggests the continuation of this proactive nursing student support strategy. Trended data relating to program completion and NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Exam Registered Nurse) pass rates, and program completion rates were also examined after the completion of this study.