Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 2005
Background and purpose. With estimated growth of the elderly population and access to care issues, much has been written about health care provider shortages. As a result, educators have been challenged to graduate individuals who will excel as autonomous practitioners. Authors have suggested that cognitive and non-cognitive factors are crucial for success in healthcare education and clinical practice but studies have mainly focused on cognitive variables. The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of the cognitive variables of pre-professional GPA, science GPA, ACT scores, and the non-cognitive variable of Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) scores in prediction of licensure scores and professional GPA of allied health graduates. Subjects. Participants included 33 dental hygiene, 26 nursing, and 40 radiation science students enrolled at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Methods. The PSI, which measures self-perception of problem solving abilities, was administered in fall, 2003. A retrospective analysis of academic records provided pre-professional GPA, science GPA, ACT scores, and professional GPA. Administrators provided licensure scores. Variables were evaluated using the Pearson Product correlation and multiple regression analysis with a predetermined level of significance at .05. Results. Results revealed moderate correlations between pre-professional GPA, science GPA, and ACT and the dependent variable of professional GPA. Moderate to high correlations existed between ACT scores and licensure scores. PSI scores were not correlated with either of the academic outcomes. Multiple regression analysis indicated that pre-professional GPA, ACT composite score, PSI problem-solving confidence, and PSI approach-avoidance were significant predictors of professional GPA and accounted for 48.7% of variance. Multiple regression analysis indicated that ACT composite score and PSI approach-avoidance were significant predictors of licensure scores and accounted for 49.1% of the variance. Conclusion. This study supported the continued use of cognitive measures as indicators of academic success. The non-cognitive variable of PSI increased the magnitude of the variance of the academic outcomes, but may not be feasible for use. Based on these findings, further investigation of the role of non-cognitive attributes should be considered
