Abstract

Background. First-year undergraduate nursing students often struggle to adapt their learning strategies to the higher-order thinking and clinical reasoning demands of nursing education. Ineffective study habits, low academic self-efficacy, and limited self-regulated learning (SRL) skills are consistently identified as predictors of attrition, which ranges from 20–50% nationally and internationally.

Purpose. At an academic medical center in rural East Texas, first-semester students report academic overwhelm and inadequate study strategies, consistent with national trends. A structured, evidence-based faculty coaching intervention targeting SRL and metacognition was found to be feasible within the collaborative, student-centered organizational culture.

Methods. A quality improvement (QI) design using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) Model and iterative Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) cycles guided implementation. The intervention comprised two structured, faculty-led coaching sessions embedded in a first-level nursing course. The Self-Regulated Learning Scale (SRLS), a validated 38-item instrument, served as the primary outcome measure and was administered via Qualtrics both pre- and post-intervention.

Interventions. Two 45-minute faculty-led coaching sessions covering evidence-based study strategies, the neuroscience of memory, time management, and metacognitive reflection were delivered within the existing course structure. Session One was delivered live and in person; Session Two was converted to an asynchronous audiovisual format due to scheduling constraints.

Results. Of 120 students invited to participate, 10 (8%) attended Session One and four (3%) completed the post-intervention survey. The group-level SRLS mean improved from M = 3.75 (pre) to M = 3.85 (post; ΔM = +0.10). The two largest item-level improvements were in study difficulty (ΔM = −1.08) and study initiation (ΔM = −1.06), both of which are among the most common barriers reported by first-semester nursing students. A within-person matched-pair analysis of two participants confirmed meaningful improvements in metacognitive monitoring and strategic planning. Seventy-five percent of post-survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that coaching helped them understand effective study habits; 100% reported incorporating or intending to incorporate new strategies.

Conclusions. A brief, resource-minimal faculty coaching intervention produced directionally positive improvements in self-regulatory behaviors among first-level nursing students. Real-world implementation barriers, including exam-period timing, low voluntary participation, and limitations of asynchronous delivery, provided critical process-level insights. Structural recommendations include proactively embedding coaching in the course calendar, delivering sessions before the first examinations, and refining the measurement instrument. Future PDSA cycles incorporating these refinements are warranted to generate robust empirical evidence for broad program adoption.

Date of publication

Summer 7-23-2026

Document Type

DNP Scholarly Project

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5101

Committee members

Emily Fox, Angie Mary McInnis, Jeni Chilton

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice

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