Abstract
The profession of nursing is incredibly demanding requiring extensive knowledge, clinical skills, and experience to develop the clinical judgment necessary to provide safe and effective patient care. According to Wang et al.1, undergraduate nursing students describe higher levels of stress and stress-related symptoms than the general student population. This increased level of stress is one of the most significant barriers facing undergraduate nursing students ability to complete their studies1-3. A peer mentoring program with undergraduate nursing students can help alleviate the adverse effects of stress and improve their overall academic performance1,4-5.
Nursing student mentees have described decreased stress and anxiety after participation in a peer mentorship program, which has allowed them to become more engaged in their coursework, improve their confidence and happiness6. Improvement in their cognitive, psychomotor, communication, and collaboration skills was also noted leading to decreased program attrition and course withdrawal1-9.
The Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program at a local mid-sized university has had 18%-35% of first-semester nursing students experience a course failure or course withdrawal each semester from 2023 - 2025. Being required to repeat one or more courses negatively impacts the student's ability to complete the program in the accelerated time, resulting in increased stress and financial burden. Graduating a diverse student population will improve the diversity of the nursing workforce thereby reflecting the diversity of the communities served.
This quality improvement project aims to decrease the rate of course failure and withdrawal in first-semester students completing the ABSN nursing program by 30% from baseline by December 2025 through the implementation of a peer mentorship program. This intervention will be initiated with the cohort of students starting in September 2025, and the outcome will be assessed in December 2025 after the completion of their first semester.
The primary outcome measurement for the project will be the percentage of first-semester students who fail or withdraw from a course. Collection of data will occur at the beginning and end of the fall semester to capture the baseline and post-intervention feedback. Thematic analysis will be used to evaluate the qualitative gathered from open-ended survey questions.
Notes
References:
6. Cust, F. (2018). Increasing confidence of first-year student nurses with peer mentoring. Nursing Times, 114(10), 51–53.
2. Gause, G., Sehularo, L. A., & Matsipane, M. J. (2024). Factors that influence resilience among first-year undergraduate nursing students: a cross-sectional descriptive study. Nursing Reports, 14(2), 1324–1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14020100
7. Igbo, I. N., & Sule, E. N. (2019). Peer mentoring as a successful retention strategy for a baccalaureate nursing program in a historically black college and university. Nursing Education Perspectives (Wolters Kluwer Health), 40(3), 192–193. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000346
8. Lombardo, C., Wong, C., Sanzone, L., Filion, F., & Tsimicalis, A. (2017). Exploring mentees’ perceptions of an undergraduate nurse peer mentorship program. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(4), 227–230. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20170323-07
9. Okanga, A. A., Ochanda, D. A., & Okoth, J. M. (2023). Effects of peer mentorship on academic performance among Bachelor of Science nursing students in Kenyan universities. International Journal of Nursing Education, 5(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijone.v15i4.20035
4. Rohatinsky, N., Harding, K., & Carriere, T. (2017). Nursing student peer mentorship: A review of the literature. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 25(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2017.1308098
1. Wang, A. H., Lee, C. T., & Pina, V. R. (2022). A virtual peer mentoring intervention for baccalaureate nursing students: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Professional Nursing, 41, 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.04.006
5. Wong, C., Stake-Doucet, N., Lombardo, C., Sanzone, L., & Tsimicalis, A. (2016). An integrative review of peer mentorship programs for undergraduate nursing students. The Journal of Nursing Education, 55(3), 141–149. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20160216-04
3. Yuksel, A., & Bahadir-Yilmaz, E. (2019). The effect of mentoring program on adjustment to university and ways of coping with stress in nursing students: A quasi-experimental study. Nurse Education Today, 80, 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.06.006
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Advances in Education, Mentoring and Coaching, Stress and Coping, Nursing Students, Undergraduates, Baccalaureate Nursing Education, Peer Teaching, Mentoring, Academic Achievement
Recommended Citation
Fayer, Kate; Campbell, Jill; and Higley, Erin, "Supporting the Academic Success of Undergraduate Nursing Students Through Peer Mentoring" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 118.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/118
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-24
Supporting the Academic Success of Undergraduate Nursing Students Through Peer Mentoring
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The profession of nursing is incredibly demanding requiring extensive knowledge, clinical skills, and experience to develop the clinical judgment necessary to provide safe and effective patient care. According to Wang et al.1, undergraduate nursing students describe higher levels of stress and stress-related symptoms than the general student population. This increased level of stress is one of the most significant barriers facing undergraduate nursing students ability to complete their studies1-3. A peer mentoring program with undergraduate nursing students can help alleviate the adverse effects of stress and improve their overall academic performance1,4-5.
Nursing student mentees have described decreased stress and anxiety after participation in a peer mentorship program, which has allowed them to become more engaged in their coursework, improve their confidence and happiness6. Improvement in their cognitive, psychomotor, communication, and collaboration skills was also noted leading to decreased program attrition and course withdrawal1-9.
The Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program at a local mid-sized university has had 18%-35% of first-semester nursing students experience a course failure or course withdrawal each semester from 2023 - 2025. Being required to repeat one or more courses negatively impacts the student's ability to complete the program in the accelerated time, resulting in increased stress and financial burden. Graduating a diverse student population will improve the diversity of the nursing workforce thereby reflecting the diversity of the communities served.
This quality improvement project aims to decrease the rate of course failure and withdrawal in first-semester students completing the ABSN nursing program by 30% from baseline by December 2025 through the implementation of a peer mentorship program. This intervention will be initiated with the cohort of students starting in September 2025, and the outcome will be assessed in December 2025 after the completion of their first semester.
The primary outcome measurement for the project will be the percentage of first-semester students who fail or withdraw from a course. Collection of data will occur at the beginning and end of the fall semester to capture the baseline and post-intervention feedback. Thematic analysis will be used to evaluate the qualitative gathered from open-ended survey questions.
Description
The Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program at a local mid-sized university has experienced 18%-35% of first-semester nursing students failing or withdrawing from a course each semester from Fall 2023 to Spring 2025.
A peer mentorship program was implemented within the ABSN program in the 2025 fall semester to address the identified problem of first-semester student failure or withdrawal from courses.