The effect of speaking English as a second language on the study of anatomy and physiology in the nursing programme

The characteristics of students entering tertiary education, including nursing programmes has changed in recent years, with a large majority studying with English as a second language (ESL).There is a high attrition of students in first year nursing education, due to failure in Anatomy and Physiology (A&P).This study aimed to determine whether ESL affects nursing students' success in A&P and whether there was a relationship between matric scores and those of A&P.A quantitative descriptive survey design was used to investigate whether ESL impacts on the success of first year student nurses in A&P.Respondents (n=248) with English as a first language achieved significantly higher marks in A&P1 than ESL students (p=0.003).There was also a positive correlation between A&P scores and matriculation points.We conclude that ESL students are disadvantaged when studying A&P in the English language and that interventions are required to improve learning in these students.