The accelerated bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) continues to prepare graduates well for their professional examination, as evidenced by 100% pass rate of its December 2024 graduating class.
“With the nursing shortage, it is important for them to pass as soon as they can,” said Yolanda VanRiel, Ph.D., chair of the department of nursing.
That success rate on the nursing exam, called the NCLEX, came out of initiatives from a university-wide task force developed a few years ago. They include hiring full- and part-time tutors, a person to conduct remediation, a consultant to go over test-taking strategies plus a diagnostic exam to help determine when students are ready to take the NCLEX.
More recently, students have started using virtual technology simulations and going out in a mobile health clinic to conduct exams in the community.
“Students can use their clinical thinking and clinical judgement skills more often,” VanRiel said. “It brings in a piece of reality.”
Passing the NCLEX examination isn’t easy, said Helen Gordon, a clinical associate professor and academic success coach for nursing students and graduates. About 50% of success is knowledge, 30% is test-taking skills and 20% is having a good mindset.
“People underestimate, especially around testing, how much their mindset effects their success rate,” Gordon said.
Beyond effecting the careers of the graduates – graduates cannot practice nursing until they pass the NCLEX – a high pass rate is important to recruiting nursing students to NCCU.
“No one wants to go to a school where you pass the degree and fail the exam,” Gordon said.
According to the most recent estimate by the National Center for Health Workforce, there is a shortage of about 78,610 registered nurses in the United States. North Carolina ranks eighth highest in its nursing shortage.