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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (March 4, 2003) — For the fourth year in a row, every graduating nursing student at Milligan College passed his or her national licensure exam on the first try. This means the class of 2002 received a 100 percent first-time pass rate, which exceeds the national average by 15-20 percent according to Melinda Collins, director of Milligan’s bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program.
The Tennessee Board of Nursing, which granted Milligan full approval of its BSN program in 1999, requires that 85 percent of an institution’s nursing graduates pass the NCLEX-RN, the national licensure exam for registered nurses, on the first attempt.
“We have not only met the 85 percent requirement, but far exceeded it,” said Collins, who learned yesterday that the final BSN student from the Class of 2002 recently passed the exam. “We are one of a few programs in the state to reach the 100 percent mark and receive commendation from TBN, and we have now done it four years in a row.”
Collins noted that the NCLEX-RN is practice-based, and at Milligan professors weave principles of the test throughout their curriculum. An additional course component was added to the curriculum in 1999, providing the senior nursing students with focused preparation for the NCLEX-RN, which Collins says has contributed to the pass rate success of Milligan’s BSN graduates.
This accomplishment is one of several successes the program has had in recent years, leading to a growing enrollment in the program.
“We have a tradition of 100 percent of our graduates being employed as they receive their diplomas, at locations such as the Mayo Clinic, Mercy Ship, and locally at Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont facilities,” said Collins.
Collins also reported that 100 percent of those applying to graduate school have been accepted to the school of their choice, including Vanderbilt, Case Western Reserve, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and East Tennessee State.
In preparation for the profession, as well as the NCLEX, Milligan’s nursing program is practice-based, explained Collins. “Combined with Milligan’s Christian focus, our graduates are at an advantage to better understand and meet the needs of their patients.”
Milligan’s academic dean, Dr. Mark Matson, said he is very pleased with the success of Milligan’s nursing program and its contribution to the college’s mission and to the community.
“Preparing servant leaders in the health care field is an essential part of Milligan’s commitment to the society that we serve,” Matson said. “We think our Christian liberal arts education, coupled with sound training in the health care fields, is the best recipe for the changing needs of health care in the next century. Our nursing graduates are prepared to meet those changing needs. We are proud of our outcomes.”