Nursing exams
Students post highest exam scores in state
Louis Finley
Issue date: 5/14/10 Section: News
Since the first graduating class in 2002, the Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions has consistently scored above average on the National Council Licensure Examination, according to a press release The NCLEX is a state licensing examination for nurses developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. The purpose of the exam is to test the students' knowledge of various skills for entry-level positions in the nursing field.
For the winter term, 100 percent of the 19 first-time test takers received a passing score. Compared to the 86 percent pass rate of the state, CoNHP has continually scored over 95 percent, making Drexel's scores superior to those of the University of Pennsylvania with 91.67 percent and Temple with 83.10 percent according to the 2009 NCLEX performance outline.
Students prepared for the exam in various stages throughout the year, and "any of our major curriculum programs have a test that students take, which is predictive of success," Gloria Donnelly, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, said. Throughout the year, students begin their studies with a clinical nursing program, followed by simulated events and concluding with a critical skills checkout.
"Students who come back [from co-op] really understand why they learned certain things, and the co-op has set us apart from other schools," Donnelly explained.
Mallory Schrader, a senior in nursing, echoed Donnelly's sentiments.
"The co-op definitely helped. Also, you take the HESI to graduate, and you must have an 87 percent to pass. Once you take the HESI the NCLEX really prepares you, and there is a more intense studying schedule," Schrader said. "All the people I know who have taken the test have passed the first time. I know people at other schools who have to take it upwards of three times."
In 2009, 324 Drexel students took the NCLEX and 99.38 percent of the students passed.
For the winter term, 100 percent of the 19 first-time test takers received a passing score. Compared to the 86 percent pass rate of the state, CoNHP has continually scored over 95 percent, making Drexel's scores superior to those of the University of Pennsylvania with 91.67 percent and Temple with 83.10 percent according to the 2009 NCLEX performance outline.
Students prepared for the exam in various stages throughout the year, and "any of our major curriculum programs have a test that students take, which is predictive of success," Gloria Donnelly, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, said. Throughout the year, students begin their studies with a clinical nursing program, followed by simulated events and concluding with a critical skills checkout.
"Students who come back [from co-op] really understand why they learned certain things, and the co-op has set us apart from other schools," Donnelly explained.
Mallory Schrader, a senior in nursing, echoed Donnelly's sentiments.
"The co-op definitely helped. Also, you take the HESI to graduate, and you must have an 87 percent to pass. Once you take the HESI the NCLEX really prepares you, and there is a more intense studying schedule," Schrader said. "All the people I know who have taken the test have passed the first time. I know people at other schools who have to take it upwards of three times."
In 2009, 324 Drexel students took the NCLEX and 99.38 percent of the students passed.
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