Marywood University’s nursing program celebrated yet another graduating class after the spring 2024 graduates achieved a perfect pass rate on the NCLEX Exam.
The National Council Licensure Examination [for] Registered Nurses (RN), or NCLEX-RN for short, is a digital, integrative exam required for all nursing graduates to become a registered nurse in the United States and Canada. The exam requires graduates to apply critical thinking skills to knowledge obtained in nursing school in order to make appropriate medical decisions.
As shown in data trends published by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, this is the second consecutive year Marywood graduates have achieved a 100% passing rate on the NCLEX Exam.
Dr. Theresa Tulaney, who is in her seventh year as director of the nursing program, attested to the program’s curriculum and how it prepares students for both the exam and professional practice.
“I think we take a holistic approach to teaching students,” said Tulaney. “Not only are we teaching them the content, but we’re making sure that they’re developing all of the professional values that we want to see in a good nurse.”
“The exam has also changed, and I think it’s changed in a good way that reflects how we teach because we teach [using] real-life situations, case studies, that kind of thing,” Tulaney stated. “We really use application methods of teaching… and we’ve been doing that and I think this new exam reflects that.”
Although freshmen nursing students do not directly interact with faculty and upperclassmen since their track begins with all science classes, the department has implemented frequent check-ins and tailored programming to guarantee students are on the right track.
“We have a good open-door policy where students can come and see us if they have any problems with class [or] outside of class. We also have an academic success coordinator; part of her job is just helping students who are struggling,” Tulaney said.
Beyond utilizing hands-on teaching strategies to prepare students for the NCLEX Exam, externships and clinical rotations are critical components to Marywood’s nursing curriculum, ensuring a smoother transition from school to the real-world.
“Difficult classes, exams, assignments and clinicals have all been designed to prepare us for the NCLEX,” said Shannon MacDougall, a graduate from Marywood’s nursing class of 2024.
“[But] for me, being put into real life scenarios during clinical rotations was the most beneficial aspect of nursing school. Connecting classroom theory with clinical experience made understanding concepts much easier,” MacDougall said.
MacDougall, who currently works in the Transitional Trauma Unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital- Cedar Crest, reflected on her clinical rotation this past spring, a graduation requirement for Marywood’s nursing program.
“During the last semester of nursing school, we were given the opportunity to be paired one-on-one with a registered nurse in a clinical internship… I was lucky enough to have a wonderful preceptor who allowed me to perform nursing duties under her supervision and taught me immensely about how to be a good nurse,” said MacDougall.
Although Marywood has started to see a trend of passing nursing graduates, the question arises: how does the program build off of this in order to maintain its success?
“I think just working on retention of students… to keep the momentum going, really. I think we’re in a really good spot, we’ve made a lot of changes… And I think we’re starting to see the benefits, or I guess the positive outcomes, of all of those,” Tulaney said.
Visit Marywood’s website for more information regarding the nursing program and related medical fields.
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