Test Anxiety in the Nursing Skills Laboratory: A Concept Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The concept of test anxiety has been well documented within the health education literature, with much of the literature addressing the clinical environment and simulation laboratories. Minimal exploration of test anxiety has been conducted within the context of a nursing skills laboratory.

AIM: This concept analysis of test anxiety will provide clarity to the meaning and use of this concept within the nursing educational setting of a controlled skills laboratory.

METHOD: Walker and Avant's (2005) framework was used to identify the defining attributes, antecedents, and consequences of test anxiety and applied in model, borderline, and contrary cases, and empirical referents.

CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the concept of test anxiety will enable nurse educators to develop strategies to reduce student anxiety during testing in the skill laboratory. These insights can lead to positive changes within the nursing curricula and may benefit those students who experience testing anxiety.