Recruitment, advising, and retention programs — Challenges and solutions to the international problem of poor nursing student retention: A narrative literature review

•Changes to recruitment practices are necessary to draw students who are more likely to persist.•Aggressive advising creates a positive learning environment, promoting retention.•Comprehensive retention programs should be integrated into the nursing curriculum.

ObjectivesThe aim of this literature review was to identify emerging themes in current research to identify challenges to nursing student retention internationally, as well as strategies to improve persistence.DesignA narrative literature review was conducted.Data SourcesUsing CINAHL and HealthSource databases, journal articles were reviewed and evaluated for emerging themes related to the causes of high nursing student attrition rates and strategies to overcome this issue.Review MethodsA five-step approach was used to complete the narrative review, beginning with problem identification, followed by the literature search, data analysis, theme emergence and synthesis of the information.ResultsThe literature review supports the idea that poor retention is related not only to student ability, but also to a lack of necessary intervention by faculty beginning with the admission process and continuing throughout the curriculum. Alterations should be made in the recruitment and student selection process. Aggressive academic advising strategies should be implemented, and retention programs should be interwoven in to the nursing curriculum.ConclusionStudent retention is a multifaceted issue that requires a multi-modal approach. Changes in recruitment, implementation of academic advising, and curriculum integration have the potential to help correct the problem.