Student Stress and Academic Performance: Home Hospital Program

Abstract

Articles Carolyn B. Yucha, PhD, RN, FAAN; Susan Kowalski, PhD, RN; Chad Cross, PhD, MAC, SAP, LADC The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether nursing students assigned to a home hospital experience less stress and improved academic performance. Students were assigned to a home hospital clinical placement (n = 78) or a control clinical placement (n = 79). Stress was measured using the Student Nurse Stress Index (SNSI) and Spielberger’s State Anxiety Inventory. Academic performance included score on the RN CAT, a standardized mock NCLEX-RN^®-type test; nursing grade point average; and first attempt pass-fail on the NCLEX-RN. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups for age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, or score on the nurse entrance examination. There were significant changes in SNSI over time but not between groups. Academic load and state anxiety showed an interaction of time by group, with the home hospital group showing reductions over time, compared with the control group. Dr. Yucha is Dean and Professor, School of Nursing, and Dean, School of Allied Health Sciences, Dr. Kowalski is Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Physiological Nursing, and Dr. Cross is Associate Professor of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, and Director, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada. The authors have no financial proprietary interest in the materials presented herein. Address correspondence to Carolyn B. Yucha, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Box 3018, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-3018; e-mail: .carolyn.yucha@unlv.edu 10.3928/01484834-20090828-05 Healio is intended for health care provider use and all comments will be posted at the discretion of the editors. We reserve the right not to post any comments with unsolicited information about medical devices or other products. At no time will Healio be used for medical advice to patients.