Scoping review of factors affecting Philippine nurse licensure examination outcomes

Abstract

Aim: This scoping review synthesized the existing literature on factors affecting Philippine nurse licensure examination (PNLE) outcomes. Background: Studies about the nurse licensure examination in the Philippines had gained popularity in recent years. Various studies reported different factors affecting PNLE outcomes, since licensure examination is an interplay between individual, academic, institutional, and environmental factors. This review is the first study that synthesized the literature on factors affecting PNLE outcomes. Methods: A scoping review of research articles published from 2000 to 2020 described the existing literature explaining the various factors affecting PNLE outcomes. The Preferred Reporting for Integrative Studies and Meta-Analysis for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used to guide the study. Using the set inclusion criteria, 4,208 articles and gray literature were eligible for initial screening. A total of 29 studies were included in this review. Findings: Majority of the PNLE studies were quantitative research, used correlation research designs, and were published between 2011 to 2020. The average PNLE first-time pass rate from 2014 to 2018 was 75 percent and overall passing rate improved from 39.2% in 2010 to 45% in 2016. First-time examinees and those who take the PNLE in November have increased odds of passing the examination. Wide variability in PNLE results were observed in the May/June PNLE. Intellectual ability, learning styles, and psychosocial behaviors impact individual PNLE outcomes. Academic performance in high school and nursing school, college admission test, nursing aptitude test, achievement exams, pre-board examinations, clinical nursing courses, English courses, and Microbiology and Parasitology are significant academic predictors of PNLE success. Institutional variables such as school size, type of school ownership, year of establishment, accreditation status, and faculty-student ratio are associated with PNLE outcomes. Conclusion: Various individual, academic, and institutional factors influence PNLE outcomes. Identifying these factors is crucial in understanding the multidimensionality of variables that may impact PNLE performance. An insight into these factors may assist individual nursing students and graduates, as well as nursing schools, in developing strategies to increase their likelihood of passing and increasing the first-time pass rates in the PNLE.