Factors associated with registered nurses' academic performance in advanced practice nursing preparatory education: A retrospective cohort study

Aim: To explore factors associated with academic performance in the Master of Nursing programme. Background: Advanced practice nursing preparatory education generally involves completion of the Master of Nursing programme. While prior clinical experiences and on-the-job training are believed to underpin the preparation for such education, studies have suggested only weak or no associations between nurses' academic success in graduate schools and their clinical experiences.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the nursing department of a university in Singapore. Academic and demographic data were extracted in February 2020 from a shared repository of anonymised teaching and learning data. R was used to select and merge data tables into a usable format for subsequent analysis. Students enrolled between 2010 and 2017 were included for the analysis (n = 246).Results: Age was statistically significantly associated with overall cumulative academic performance (p < 0.001). Younger students on average academically outperformed older students. Unmarried students were associated with better cumulative academic performance in the Clinical Practicum 2 module (p = 0.018).Conclusion: Younger students have historically outperformed their older counterparts in the Master of Nursing programme. There is a need to reassess the requirement of five years of clinical experience as an admission criterion for the Master of Nursing programme in Singapore.Implications for nursing policy: There is a need to re-evaluate the admission criteria to better engage and retain younger nurses interested in advanced nursing practice. Nursing educators and leaders can partner with academics to develop advanced practice-specific education for pre-master nurses with the aptitude and interest in pursuing this track.