All 15 of MassBay Community College’s graduating nursing students have passed the National Council Licensure Examination. It’s the second straight year the college can make that claim.
MetroWest Daily News, Sep. 3, 2018
![Nursing Students in Ceremony at MassBay 2018]( "Nursing Students in Ceremony at MassBay 2018")
FRAMINGHAM — For the second consecutive year, all nursing students at Massachusetts Bay Community College passed the NCLEX exam on their first attempt.
The NCLEX, or National Council Licensure Examination, is the required examination for nursing students to gain a nursing license as either a registered nurse (RN) or practical nurse (PN).
“We are really ecstatic,” said Judy Rolph, a faculty member of the nursing program and who helped to develop its concept-based curriculum.
Rolph credited the success to the program’s concept-based curriculum, which focuses more on teaching students how to think thoroughly about the subjects rather than following the old mantra of “teaching to the test.”
By passing their exam, the 15 students in the program will be able to practice nursing as well as obtain an associate’s degree. From there, most students go on to earn a bachelor of science in nursing degree at a four-year university or college.
“Finding success requires a broad understanding of various nursing topics, as well as an ability to think clearly and sequentially,” said Jon Haws, a registered nurse and a co-founder of the nursing education website NRSNG Academy. “For MassBay Community College to achieve a 100 percent pass rate on this test is a true achievement, and demonstrates educators’ commitment to preparing future nurses to pass and enter the field.”
According to Haws, the national rate for passing the NCLEX on the first try is 87 percent while the pass rate for all test takers, including those who passed on a second or later try, is 72 percent.
In the 2017 Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing Percent of First-time Licensure Candidates Educated in Massachusetts report, MassBay held a first-place ranking, tied with Boston College and Northeastern University, followed by the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University-Accelerated BSN (Boston) and Bristol Community College. MassBay differed from Boston College and Northeastern, which were ranked based on their master of science in nursing programs.
Jessica Wilkinson, 25, of Ashland was among the 15 MassBay students to take and pass the exam. While happy at hearing the news, she was not surprised.
“Our teachers said, ‘We prepared you so well that you don’t need to take (supplementary preparation programs),’” she said. She mentioned Kaplan, an educational exam preparation provider, and how students initially wondered if preparing through them was worth it.
Additionally, she credited school professors for being up to date on the exams and helping to make sure that students obtained all of the information they needed to succeed. All exams she took leading up to the NCLEX were styled to it.
“Our professors said, ‘You can do this,’” she said.
Wilkinson is now pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing degree at Southern New Hampshire University.
Liz Cooper
Interim Director of Marketing and Communications
MassBay Community College | 50 Oakland Street | Wellesley Hills, MA 02481
781-239-2636
www.massbay.edu