by Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Building Upon Comprehensive Remediation Programs: Focusing on Individual Student Success in Nursing Education
In May 2021 our Collaborative Momentum Consulting blog featured a discussion on remediation programs for nursing students, titled “Setting Students Up for Success” We addressed the pressing need to develop remediation programs tailored to meet the diverse needs of your entire student body. While we hope these strategies were helpful, we recognize there is also a need for individualized support and remediation for nursing students facing academic challenges. Often, educators find themselves assisting individual students who demonstrate trouble achieving success in faculty-made or standardized tests or other assignments.
This month we aim to equip educators with practical approaches to assist individual students in identifying areas of difficulty, understanding specific knowledge gaps and developing personalized improvement plans. Many times, regardless of the structure of a student success program, faculty must work with individual students who perform poorly on a test or assignment, helping them to identify why they did poorly, what specifically they do not know, and how they might improve their performance. We’ve provided some actionable principles below to facilitate this interaction and to support student success.
Assessing Needs and Implementing Individualized Remediation Plans
1. Assess the student’s particular problem.
Answer these questions through a dialogue with the student.
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- What has been the student’s history in previous or current classes?
- Has poor performance been a problem in the past?
- To what does the student attribute the poor performance?
- When and how did they study or complete the assignment?
2. Evaluate the available data to determine, if possible, the student’s weaknesses. For example:
3. Plan the remediation assignment(s) to fit the problem(s) identified in the assessment. One strategy may not solve all problems; and students may have more than one problem that contributes to a lack of success.
4. Be actively involved in the student’s remediation work. Simply assigning remediation strategies without ongoing follow-up is unlikely to ensure student’s success.
5. Help students identify the most important content associated with tests or assignments by reviewing course objectives and any relevant grading rubrics.
6. Use the Clinical Judgement Measurement Model (https://www.nclex.com/clinical-judgment-measurement-model.page) to help students reason appropriate responses to test questions and case studies.
Regardless of the past academic experience, when students are admitted to nursing programs, many express a sense of culture shock. How often have you heard students say, “I have NEVER taken a test like this before!”? The breadth and depth of the content nursing students must absorb, the need to apply the content in a variety of different clinical experiences, and the stress associated with appropriate application of content to ensure the patient’s safety are all contributors to the anxiety that is a part of nursing school. Helping students on a one-to-one basis to address their weaknesses and build on their strengths in order to be safe practitioners is a prime responsibility for faculty. The six strategies above for supporting students through the remediation process can increase the likelihood of student success and have a lasting impact on student outcomes.
Wether you are exploring new strategies, refining existing remediation programs, or seeking additional support, we are here to help. Reach out to us to learn more effective remediation techniques, share your insights, or collaborate to enhance student success in your program.
References:
NCSBN. (2020) Clinical Judgment Measurement Model: A framework to measure Clinical Judgment and Decision-Making. Next Generation NCLEX. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing. https://www.nclex.com/clinical-judgment-measurement-model.page. Accessed 2024.
Silvestri, L., Silvestri, A. (2022) Saunders 2022-2023 Clinical Judgment and Test-taking Strategy. 7th Edition. Elsevier.
Sportsman, S. (2021) Setting Students up for Success. Collaborative Momentum Blog. May 17. https://collaborativemomentum.com/category/student-remediation/ Accessed 2024.