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December 9, 2011
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Accelerated nursing students score a perfect 100
By Cliff Foster
Give a class of students a rigorous test with a whole lot riding on it and chances are not everyone is going to pass.
But Metro State’s 2011 accelerated nursing students beat the odds. The College learned last week that all 36 graduates in the 2011 class passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. The 100 percent pass rate, which was a first for the program, was the only perfect score out of all baccalaureate and associate degree nursing programs in Colorado, according to the Colorado State Board of Nursing website. Nationally and in Colorado, the average pass rate for the NCLEX-RN exam in the April to September reporting period was 88 percent.
The test includes questions all aspects of nursing: obstetrics, mental health, medical surgical nursing, leadership and management, community health and more, says Nursing Department Chair Barbara Nelson.
The national council toughened the test effective last April before the Metro State students took it. “Every so often the national board…revises it to ensure it is rigorous and that it’s going to test the competency of nurses coming out of school to make sure they practice good nursing,” Nelson says.
When the test gets tougher, nursing schools figure their pass rates will drop. “So, it’s sort of an extra acknowledgment of our graduates’ ability in terms of being able to pass the exam even in a year when the level of difficulty increased,” says Linda Stroup, associate chair of the Nursing Department.
