The Lived Experience of Veteran and Military Nursing Majors Transitioning to College

Abstract

A needs assessment was conducted with a group of veteran and military students enrolled in prerequisite general education courses for a bachelor's degree in nursing. This qualitative study sought to explore the question: What is the lived experience of veteran and military nursing majors transitioning to college? Using a phenomenological approach, we found three overarching themes: Interactions on Campus, Barriers to Success, and Facilitators of Success. Within these themes, nine subthemes emerged reflecting participants' positive and negative transition experiences. The veteran and military students in this study described challenges relating to younger civilian students, navigating college processes and procedures, developing their own structure and routine, having good study skills, commuting to campus, maintaining work obligations, and having a heightened awareness of their surroundings on campus. Deployment was described as a challenge for military students. Participants described financial benefits received through the military, transference of skills learned in the military to college, having supportive faculty, access to veteran-centered services and counselors, and forming connections with other veterans and military students as factors contributing to success in college. Insights from this study may be helpful to nursing and other higher-education faculty and staff in supporting veteran and military students transitioning to college. Findings are consistent with other studies, contributing to the collective body of knowledge related to the phenomenon of veteran and military students transitioning from military service to college.