CORRELATION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND LICENSURE EXAMINATION OF UCLM NURSE GRADUATES

Abstract

The passing rate in the national licensure examination for nurses is considered a key indicator of the quality of the nursing program. Professional licensure or occupational licensing system grants permission to the person possessing the license to practice the profession and ensures that the licensee has some minimal level of competence to perform acts allowed by the license. The graduates’ success rate in the Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE) is on the creation of success not only for the student but also for the nursing program. Currently, in UCLM-CN, correlational studies regarding academic performance and board exam results are non-existent. The PNLE serves as an evaluation of the nursing program being offered but there is no way of evaluating it because there are still no findings. Hence, with the cited background this research was created. The present study utilized the descriptive-correlational method. Data were analyzed using statistical methods like weighted mean, standard deviation, inferential statistics (Pearson R), and multiple linear regression. The sample size of this study consisted of 87 takers/graduates from a period of 4 years (2018-2021) who took the Philippine Nurses Licensure Examination (PNLE). The majority of the variables exhibited moderate correlation while only the subjects CHN and NP1 showed a weak correlation. Based on the p-value to test for a significant relationship, most of the results yielded less than the alpha value of 0.05, therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. This would mean that the higher the grades in major subjects, the higher the chances of passing the board exam. The use of students’ performance in nursing school may be used as predictors in the PNLE. This may assist nursing schools in the development of admission and retention policies in the nursing program. Because the majority of the board exam scores fall under the low category, there is a need to modify the curriculum or a more intense review enhancement program to improve the performance of nursing graduates. This may assist the faculty members and reviewers in identifying concepts to be emphasized. The findings of this study may be obtained to aid in a more holistic approach to understanding PNLE performance. This study, however, would recommend an in-depth analysis of the weaknesses of those students who failed the licensure examination to have a better grasp on the strengths and weaknesses during the board exams.