Nursing graduates from Delaware State University’s class of 2017 have posted a 90% passage rate on the National Council Licensure Examination, a 28 percent increase over the school’s average passage rate over the last seven years, an increase that school officials attribute to investments from state and private resources and higher standards for its admitted students.
Nursing achieves new levels of excellence
Over the last four years, the DSU Department of Nursing has expanded its laboratory facilities and has raised its standards on how it prepares the health professionals who graduate from its program. The outcome of that work has been evidenced in recent years by the increased pass rate of the program’s graduates after taking the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).
Dr. Marshá Horton, dean of the College of Education, Health and Public Policy, has overseen the Department of Nursing’s improvements since she assumed the leadership post in 2013. She said all the Nursing Program’s efforts have focused on increased student success.
“A lot of work has been done in the department to facilitate faculty success in their work, with the greater goal always to facilitate student success preparing them to pass the licensing exam and obtain jobs to launch their nursing career,” Dr. Marshá Horton, dean of DSU’s College of Education, Health and Public Policy said.
Allocations from the State of Delaware’s Health Fund allowed the school to invest in nursing lab equipment and care simulators, which offered students more intensive training for practical application in treatment and patient service. Funding from the Marmot Foundation and the Good Samaritan Foundation finance renovations in the school’s nursing labs, which are outfitted to simulate hospital rooms with ten mannequin patients varying in gender and age.
“We serve a student population that is culturally diverse, regionally and ethnically. They all come here with a strong desire to learn and to serve as nurses. It is our responsibility to prepare them with the knowledge and skills they need to pass the licensing exam and to be strong nurses skilled in providing health services to diverse populations,” Dr. Horton said.
Healthcare is one of Delaware’s largest and most active industries according to some economists, topping most sectors in job growth over the last nine years.
