Self-Efficacy of LPNs: Relation to Attaining RN Licensure

Colleen Claire Doherty

Health care in Washington state is experiencing a growing critical shortage of Registered Nurses (RN). This looming shortage impacts the quality of and accessibility to health care for the State's citizens. One strategy to ease the nursing shortage would be to advance the education of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) to attain RN licensure. Approximately 20% of Washington state RNs began their nursing careers as LPNs, yet no literature exists regarding self-efficacy as a predictive indicator for LPNs likely to attain RN licensure. Building on the knowledge of self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy may be useful in understanding and predicting educational mobility behaviors of LPNs. Self-efficacy was measured through the use of the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) and the Career Decision Self-Efficacy - Short Form © (CDSE-SF©) survey tools. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional correlational design to explore self-efficacy scores of LPNs and LPNs who had attained RN licensure. A total of 75 LPN participants and 107 LPN-to-RN participants completed a demographic survey and the GSE and CDSE-SF© scales. The mean CDSE-SF© total score (M=97.61, SD=15.618, p<.05) and subcategory scores (SA: M=4.08, SD=.6577, p<.05); OI: M=4.06, SD=.677, p<.05; GP: M=4.01, SD=.711, p<.05; P: M=3.90, SD=.676, p<.05; PS: M=3.76, SD=.760, p<.05) for the LPN respondents were lower than the mean CDSE-SF© total score (M=103.34, SD=18.643, p<.05) and subcategory scores (SA: M=4.30, SD=.537, p<.05; OI: M=4.36, SD=.571, p,.05; GP: M=4.24, SD=.613, p<.05; P: M=4.25, SD=.598, p<.05; PS: M=4.09, SD=.645, p<.05) for the LPNs who had attained RN licensure indicating that career decision self-efficacy was higher for RNs. Logistic Regression identified moderate accuracy (65.9%) in the classification of respondents. The strongest predictor for an LPN to attain RN licensure was planning. The odds of attaining RN licensure is 2.38 times higher for those who planned compared to those who did not. This research represents a unique resource and a step toward improving seamless transitions between levels and schools of nursing. This enhanced picture of nursing and career decision self-efficacy is a necessary foundation for the discussions of nursing education, politics, health reform, and other work that is required to create seamless educational mobility opportunities for LPNs.

Self-Efficacy of LPNs: Relation to Attaining RN Licensure

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