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Graduate entry healthcare students experience many challenges during their academic journey. The impact of these challenges needs to be considered to support students through their training and education. In this study, we examined the impact of experiencing these role conflicts (at the outset of the academic year), for example, family and caring responsibilities, activities with family/friends, and daily tasks/chores, on the academic performance (at the end of the academic year) of graduate‐entry healthcare students. We also investigated the potential of students' self‐efficacy for learning to mitigate the extent to which such role conflicts impact academic performance. Findings demonstrate that the more graduate entry healthcare students experienced conflicts between their life responsibilities and their academic responsibilities, the worse their academic performance was across the year. This negative relationship was somewhat mitigated by high self‐efficacy for learning. The practical implications of our research suggest the need to provide specific mitigation strategies to support healthcare students regarding conflicts between their life/family responsibilities and their academic work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how peer assessment was implemented in an undergraduate nursing program in Ireland to enhance student engagement, and reports students' ( n = 37) experiences of the process. The process involved second year Bachelor of Nursing Science students developing marking criteria and marking two of their colleagues' assignments anonymously. A qualitative descriptive design using focus group interviews was used to collect data on students' experiences. Demographic data were collected through questionnaires. The analysis identified three themes: (i) impact on student engagement; (ii) challenges of peer assessment; and (iii) making it better. The findings revealed that most students enjoyed the process, and that peer assessment facilitates and enhances student engagement. The findings also provide evidence to support the self-regulation theory of learning. A detailed account of the methods used to implement peer assessment is also provided, which might be useful for other nurse educators seeking to implement peer assessment at an undergraduate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]