Nursing Students Today: Who Are They and What Are Their Learning Preferences?

This study compared the personal characteristics, life events, learning needs, and preferred teaching and evaluation methods of baccalaureate nursing students and accelerated nursing students. The sample included 194 baccalaureate and 93 accelerated students from four schools of nursing located in a Midwestern urban area. The participants completed an online quantitative questionnaire. The findings indicate that baccalaureate and accelerated students are more similar than they are different in preferences for teaching methods, evaluation methods, and expectations of faculty. Accelerated students work fewer hours, study more, and have higher career aspirations than do baccalaureate students. Most differences between the two groups were the result of age rather than the type of nursing program within which they were enrolled.