Test Anxiety in Pre-Exam Period and Success of Nursing Students

The aim of this study was to examine the presence of preexam anxiety in nursing students and establish relationship of pre-exam anxiety intensity in relation to the category variables (gender, age, place of birth, current place of residence, with whom they live, whether they are employed, the average family income, year of study), objective success (i.e., pass rate at exams, the average score at the end of year, possible renewal of the year of study) and the subjective perception of academic success (i.e., self-satisfaction as a student as well as the importance of ratings obtained at the exam). The sample was random and consisted of the students of High Medical College of Professional Studies in Belgrade at the Department of vocational nurse. 209 students were tested, evenly distributed on the second and third year of study. Pre-examination anxiety among students was examined using a questionnaire The Test Anxiety Inventory – TAI (Test Anxiety Inventory), which includes subscales: Test Anxiety Inventory-Total (TAI-T), Test Anxiety Inventory-Worry (TAI-W) and Test Anxiety Inventory-Emotionality (TAI-E). From the obtained results we can conclude that nursing students showed a statistically significant pre-exam anxiety on all subscales. Preexam anxiety symptoms compared to candidates’ sex showed statistically significant differences in all scores, and average values are always higher in female students compared to male. There is also a statistically significant difference between students of the second year in relation to the third year students. It can be concluded that there is a significant number of nursing students with the pre-exam anxiety problems that need professional help and support in the form of expanding and strengthening personal competencies.