Scoping review of factors affecting Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination outcomes

Aim@#This scoping review synthesized the existing literature on factors affecting Philippine nurse licensure examination (PNLE) outcomes.@*Background@#Studies about the nurse licensure examination in the Philippines had gained popularity in recent years. Various studies reported different factors affecting PNLE outcomes, since licensure examination is an interplay between individual, academic, institutional, and environmental factors. This review is the first study that synthesized the literature on factors affecting PNLE outcomes.@*Methods@#A scoping review of research articles published from 2000 to 2020 described the existing literature explaining the various factors affecting PNLE outcomes. The Preferred Reporting for Integrative Studies and Meta-Analysis for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used to guide the study. Using the set inclusion criteria, 4,208 articles and gray literature were eligible for initial screening. A total of 29 studies were included in this review.@*Findings@#Majority of the PNLE studies were quantitative research, used correlation research designs, and were published between 2011 to 2020. The average PNLE first-time pass rate from 2014 to 2018 was 75 percent and overall passing rate improved from 39.2% in 2010 to 45% in 2016. First-time examinees and those who take the PNLE in November have increased odds of passing the examination. Wide variability in PNLE results were observed in the May/June PNLE. Intellectual ability, learning styles, and psychosocial behaviors impact individual PNLE outcomes. Academic performance in high school and nursing school, college admission test, nursing aptitude test, achievement exams, pre-board examinations, clinical nursing courses, English courses, and Microbiology and Parasitology are significant academic predictors of PNLE success. Institutional variables such as school size, type of school ownership, year of establishment, accreditation status, and faculty-student ratio are associated with PNLE outcomes. @*Conclusion@#Various individual, academic, and institutional factors influence PNLE outcomes. Identifying these factors is crucial in understanding the multidimensionality of variables that may impact PNLE performance. An insight into these factors may assist individual nursing students and graduates, as well as nursing schools, in developing strategies to increase their likelihood of passing and increasing the first-time pass rates in the PNLE.

The academic and licensure examination performances of Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates in a state college

@#The practice of safe and effective nursing care is what a Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduate can provide based on the established competencies of the curriculum. However, they need to be on the list of registered nurses before entry into practice. This study analyzed the academic and licensure examination performances of Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates in a state college to ascertain relationships and predictors of the licensure examination as the basis for future planning. Descriptive-retrospective design was utilized where 208 graduates who took their licensure examination from 2013 to 2017 were conveniently chosen. Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 22.0 was used where Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and Simple Regression Analysis were employed. The academic and nurse licensure performances of graduates were found lower than the ideal and are opposite in terms of skewness and kurtosis. Moreover, a strong positive relationship was noted between the graduates' performances in their academics and licensure examinations. 5 from 21 nursing courses are significant predictors with strong unique contributions to the nurse licensure examination at which 2 from the 5 were found common in all parts of the examination. Thus, it is vital to always look into predictors as basis in the modification of institutional policy on curriculum implementation.

A five-year trend analysis of the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (2014-2018)

Purpose@#This study analyzed the trend of the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE) results from 2014 to 2018.@*Design@#A retrospective research design was used to describe the five-year trend in the NLE. It determined the association between NLE outcome (pass/fail) and the type of examinee (first time vs. repeat examinees) and timing (month) of taking the exam (May/June vs. November).@*Methods@#Trends in NLE results were examined to determine the pass and fail rates over five years as an indication of the quality of nursing education. Secondary data analysis was conducted after collecting publicly available NLE data. Odds ratios were estimated to express whether the odds of passing differ for the type of examinee and month of taking the NLE.@*Findings@#The overall pass rates indicated a decreasing trend over the past five years (47.5% to 41.3%). The first-time pass rates showed an increasing trend (70.6% to 77.3%) while the repeat pass rates revealed a decreasing trend (31.6% to 28.2%). The odds of passing the NLE among first-time examinees is 7.01 times the odds of passing the NLE compared to repeat examinees [OR = 7.01 (95% CI = 6.86, 7.12)]. The odds of passing the NLE in November is 1.32 times the odds of passing in May/June [OR = 1.32 (95% CI = 1.29, 1.34)].@*Conclusions@#Despite the increasing first-time pass rates, a large number of nursing graduates still fail the NLE, especially among the repeat-takers. The results of this study can be used to improve nursing programs by developing measures to increase the NLE passing performance through assisting at-risk first-time examinees prior to taking the NLE and developing programs to assist graduates who will retake the NLE.