Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership earns perfect score on 2008 licensure exam

Janel Shoun | 

Lipscomb and Vanderbilt Universities are proud to announce there are now 31 more nurses helping to alleviate the nation’s nursing shortage after 100 percent of the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership’s 2008 class passed their licensure exam and are now registered with the Tennessee Board of Nursing.

The Lipscomb/Vanderbilt 100 percent pass rate on the licensure exam (NCLEX) is more than 6 percentage points higher that the average pass rate for Tennessee nursing programs in 2008 and more than 10 percentage points higher than the national pass rate.

The nurses who passed the exams graduated and were awarded this nursing pins in May 2008.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Geri Reeves, program director at Lipscomb University, said of the pass rate. “Most programs consider 85 percent to be an acceptable pass rate, so this just doesn’t happen every day.”

“This is just fantastic because it really reflects the knowledge and expertise of these students. It means that the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt is meeting high quality standards of safe and effective nursing care,” said Linda Norman, senior associate dean for academics at Vanderbilt School of Nursing. “The NCLEX gauges the nursing knowledge obtained in the classroom and obtained in clinical situations. So this excellent pass rate means the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt students have the best combination of classroom and clinical experience.”

Noticing a growing shortage of bachelor’s degree nurses in the Nashville community, Lipscomb officials launched the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership as a way to help alleviate the nursing shortage. The program allows Lipscomb to offer a bachelor of science in nursing degree by providing the first five semesters of classroom instruction, and Vanderbilt provides the last three semesters of clinical studies.

Following on the heels of the exciting NCLEX pass rate, the innovative program was approved by the Tennessee Board of Nursing on Sept. 25. The program is in pre-candidate status for national accreditation and will be considered for full national accreditation later this year.

“With today’s health care industry facing such tough challenges, higher education must come up with inventive ways to attract more students and train them effectively to be agents of change in health care. We are proud and appreciative that the state board has recognized our efforts as worthy and valuable,” said Ben Hutchinson, dean of the Lipscomb College of Natural and Applied Sciences, which houses the nursing program.

“This program not only provides an additional source of excellent nurses for local health care institutions, but it also provides a Christian education for those who desire that option. The combination makes the program a unique resource in Middle Tennessee,” Hutchinson said.

For more information on Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership bachelor’s program contact 615.966.6650 or e-mail geri.reeves@lipscomb.edu.