Future nurses at Tennessee State University are making care and compassion count with their test scores. The 2009 class of the University’s School of Nursing completed the registered nurse state licensure exam with a 100 percent pass rate – making TSU the only public four-year Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institution to exceed the national percentage of students passing the National Council Licensure Examination for the 2009 calendar year.

“There’s no surprise that 100 percent of our class was able to pass the state licensure exam on the first attempt,” said School of Nursing graduate Renata Powers and president of the 2009 class. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in psychology from TSU in 2005, she later returned to find a no-nonsense nursing program with a challenging curriculum and a nurturing environment.

“The faculty fully prepared us for the exam and for the environments we would enter as registered nurses. Even with limited resources at times, they kept us energized and encouraged,” said Powers, who now serves as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Metro General Hospital.

Issued by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the exam evaluates how well students are prepared to enter the nursing workforce. Recorded by calendar year with periodic testing dates, the national pass rate for 2009 graduates averaged at 89.49 percent. All 28 bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) graduates at TSU passed the exam on first attempt.

Dr. Verla Vaughan, interim director of the BSN Program at TSU, said, “The success in achieving a 100 percent pass rate is a testament to the rigor of our program and the quality of instruction delivered by dedicated and committed faculty. We expect to maintain that level of achievement on the state board licensing exam.”

Vaughan, the faculty, and Dr. Kathy Martin, dean of the School of Nursing, have enhanced the nursing curriculum through the use of technology in the classroom. The school developed a simulation lab with state-of-the-art equipment that includes simulated mannequins that can be programmed to act as real patients. They also utilized computer-programmed simulations of complex hospital medical emergencies.