The effect of supportive counseling program on the academic performance of nursing and midwifery students.

Introduction: Poor academic performance in universities is a worrying issue, imposing extra finance on the government. This study was conducted to discover if supportive counseling program (SCP) has any effects on the academic performance of students. Methods: Sixty nursing and midwifery Iranian students with poor academic performance participated in this quasi-experimental semester-long study. They were balanced by gender, major, years of study, and grade average. They were divided into intervention and control groups, the former attended the SCP. Finally the grade averages of the groups before and after the intervention were calculated. Results: An independent t-test revealed a significant difference between the grade averages of the two groups (p = 0.01); similar results were obtained for theoretical courses' grade averages (p = 0.03). Also, a paired t-test indicated a significant difference between the grade averages of the intervention group pre and post-intervention (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Findings favored designing and carrying out SCP for students, especially for those with poor academic performance. The effect of SCP on the academic performance of nursing and midwifery students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]