| Balancing the demands of heavy academics with everyday adult responsibilities often proves overwhelming for nontraditional nursing students in a community college nursing program. Too often, nontraditional students elect to leave school at a critical time when the nation needs even more new nurses. The goal of this mixed method research was to investigate a program-dedicated career counselor program utilized by one community college nursing program. This study examined the types of student needs most commonly addressed by the career counselor; how nontraditional nursing students perceived the value of a program-dedicated counselor; and, the relationship between the frequency of student-counselor interactions and student progression. Nontraditional nursing students sought the career counselor's assistance with stress and anxiety and their causes. They felt overwhelmed, uncertain, and stressed; they perceived comfort from the availability of a career counselor. No statistically significant relationship was found between the frequency of student-counselor interactions and student progression. |
