Variables that influence nursing student proficiency scores When an undergraduate nursing student takes a proficiency test, his or her performance may be affected by multiple factors. The student may be influenced by how he or she chose to prepare for the exam, how he or she felt at the time of the test, or even his or her lifestyle (Cherry & Jacob, 2002). The anxiety shown by a student during the test could be explained as a lack of understanding of the skill needed to be performed, but this could be a false accusation due to the anxiety the student feels (Pfeil, 2003). Additionally, how nursing students may have used the materials to prepare for the skills tests may also have an effect on their final score. Therefore, students should use materials, such as simulators, to assist them in their training for an individual skill (Issenberg, Obeso, & Scalese, 2007). Students realize that their study habits can affect their grades; however, most college students do not yet use textbooks (Berry, Cook, Hill, & Stevens, 2011). Although some nursing students may use all the study materials provided to them, they may still score lower on proficiency tests due to their lifestyle or anxiety. Statistically, nursing students have been shown to have significantly higher test anxiety than the general population of high school students and college students (Driscoll, Evans, Ramsey, & Wheeler, 2009). However, different people bring different learning needs, however, nursing students will be supported in the classroom as well as in the clinical setting or skills laboratory through the use of technology and laboratory modules which have been shown to benefit nursing students and reduce their anxiety (Edwa ...... middle of document ...... line, 8(2), 1-20 Retrieved February 29, 2012, from http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume8Number2 /EdwardsandOConnorPaper.pdf Pfeil, M. (2003). Technology for skills training and skills assessment in medical education. Innovations in Education,46-49: 10.1007/s11606-007-0283-4Sullivan-Mann, J., Perron, CA, & Fellner, AN (2009). Simulation on critical thinking scores of nursing students: a quantitative study Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews,9(2), 111-115 doi: 10.1053/j.nainr.2009.03. 006The Board of Directors of INASCL. (2011). Standard of good practice: simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 7(4s), s3-s19. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2011.05.011