Nurturing academic writing for students in an enrolled to registered nurse conversion course at university

Abstract

A growing number of diploma-qualified nurses from vocational programs are enrolling in university Bachelor of Nursing programs to upgrade their qualifications. Universities typically provide these students with credit so they enter the Bachelor of Nursing program in second year. Known as pathway students, these students tend to miss the orientating opportunities that other students experience in their first-year university enrolment. This lack of first-year opportunity can be challenging for many pathway students, notably in academic writing. This paper reports on a tailored and scaffolded academic-writing teaching strategy designed for pathway students in their initial semester of learning. Both the students themselves, and teachers report evidence of improvements in academic writing amongst the pathway students.