SCHOOL OF NURSING Faculty, students in nursing program celebrate 25th anniversary The school of nursing celebrated its 25th anniversary during homecoming weekend in October. Since its founding, the program has been highly successful in its mission of developing nurses as Christian servants. One measure of this success was the outstanding performance of last year's graduates on a registered nurse licensure examination'called the NCLEX-RN. Last year, the rate of Harding's school of nurSing graduates who passed the exam on the first try was 97% - the highest pass rate among nursing programs in"Arkansas. The school's pass rate also ranked well above national averages. Dr. Cathleen Shultz, dean of the School ofNursing, said she is "extremely pleased" by not only the test scores, but also the impact the school's graduates are making as Christian nurses across the country. "Harding has always had excellent nursing graduates," she said. "This test rate indicates hard work by both students and our nursing faculty. "The licensure test is unique in that it's both job focused and computer based," Shultz said. "It's a difficult test and each graduate takes a different version." Before graduating, nurSing students are required to take NURS 462, a capstone course that helps them prepare for the NCLEX-RN. You KnOW• •• Dr. Jerry Myhan, associate professor ofnursing, leads a medical missions team of nursing students to Africa every year. The nursing students give medical treatment to African citizens. Shultz said the course has been a tremendous help to students as they prepare to graduate. "It's been a terrific benefit to graduates," she said. "Not only for preparing for the test, but for obtaining desired clinical positions." Those graduates who pass the licensure test are in demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of jobs for registered nurses will grow 23 percent by 2006. Harding's program is meeting that demand, boasting a 100 percent job placement rate of its graduates, according to Shultz. "1 think anyone would be pleased to have a Harding nursing graduate," she said. "Not only working for them, but with them during times of illness or an end of life experience." - Casey Neese Juniors Rachael Goad and Kimberly Starr participate in a sack race at the fall cookout. All nursing students were invited for barbecue and games at the beginning of the year. Photo by Daniel Dubois. Senior Ellen Mao, a nursing major, sits next to the Chief of a Vietnamese commune. Several nursing students were involved in a humanitarian relief mission in Vietnam last summer. Photo supplied by Allen Jang. Junior nursing major Miranda Vincent performs an examination on junior Grant Burke. Nursing students were required to do weekly validations. Photo by Daniel Dubois. _S _c h_o~o_l_o_f_N __ u_rs_i_n~g ________ ~~ Academics ~
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