Nursing program boasts high pass rate

Students with a 3.0 and above GPA are eligible to apply but compete against many other eager students

Years of hard work and dedication from students, faculty and staff have helped Liberty University’s nursing program earn its highest pass rate ever.

According to Deanna Britt, Chairperson of the Department of Nursing at Liberty University, students must apply to get into the program during their freshman year, a process that includes requirements such as a GPA of at least 3.0. Freshman year helps distinguish which students are prepared for the program. Other schools “weed out” candidates as they go through the program, which makes it easier to have a 100-percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination.

According to Britt, determining worthy students during their freshman year only, as opposed to throughout the student’s college career, is what makes Liberty unique.

“Once students are accepted in their sophomore year to the nursing program, we want them to succeed,” Britt said.

In addition to getting used to a new environment and schedule, freshmen have to worry about actually getting into the program. Britt said that nursing applications are looked at in the second semester, the spring semester, of the freshman’s career, and a 3.0 GPA is expected.

The expectations of the nursing program are raised each school year, according to Britt.

“By junior level, they are in a classroom and a clinical and must demonstrate not only good grades, but also good clinical skills and safe judgment,” Britt said.

Britt also said that once the student reaches senior year, classroom and clinical expectations are even higher, with the additional responsibility of taking care of more complex patients. During this time, nursing students are only required to keep their GPA at 2.75 because of the increased pressure.

Once the students are admitted into the program, much is done to help them get through the work. According to Britt, faculty holds study sessions and offers tutors for some of the beginning courses.

“The work load is still a lot to do, but the teachers are really encouraging,” Elizabeth Loncar, a sophomore nursing student at Liberty, said. “They do everything in their power to help out.”

According to liberty.edu, 94 nursing students took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) last summer. This test determines if a student will become a Registered Nurse (RN). According to Tracy Turner, Assistant Professor of Nursing, if a student does not pass the NCLEX, they can retake it. However, the longer it takes, the harder it gets. It is not impossible for a student to pass on the second try, but the chances go down. The test is made more challenging by the fact that they are moving further away from their training and practice each time they retake the test.

“They can’t practice as a nurse unless they pass the NCLEX,” Turner said.

In May 2012, 97 percent of the 94 students became RNs, the highest pass rate Liberty has ever seen.

“It’s exciting that it’s so high because it means that the nursing program is doing a good job in preparing students to pass,” Loncar said.