Each year brings its challenges, and this year has been no exception. The RWC Nursing Department is actively preparing for the upcoming Ohio Board of Nursing Survey visit. The Ohio Board of Nursing is a State government agency that was established by the Ohio General Assembly with a law that mandates both the structure of the Board and the Board’s functions.
The Board is made up of 13 individuals, eight registered nurses, four licensed practical nurses, and one consumer appointed by the Governor. Board members are public officials, and their meetings are open to the public, as are virtually all of their records.
The Board is the approval body that gives the Nursing program approval to continue to serve as an educational program. The visit will occur this spring on May 1 and 2. This process allows all those involved to reflect on their practices and all facets of the program (curriculum, student policies, resources, and faculty), and evaluate how well everyone is meeting the criteria.
This approval body comes every five years; the last visit occurred in 2003, and the program received full approval at that time.
Students in the RWC Nursing Program also recently received NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination–Registered Nurse) scores from the Board of Nursing and found that they were at a 98 percent pass rate for the 2007-08 academic school year.
Says Jennifer Pearce of the high scores and the success of the program, “A warm thank-you goes to our graduates who excelled on their exam, and congratulations to our faculty, who work hard to prepare our students for the profession of nursing. We are confident that this tradition of excellence will continue.”
Pearce also went on to explain just how this success is achieved time and time again. “To prepare our students for the rigors of the nursing program,” Pearce said, ” the Department introduced an admission assessment test, which all students are required to take prior to entry into the nursing program.
Based on the results of this test, students are required to take classes which assist them in their nursing course. They also receive a test at the end of the first year, which alerts them to how they are progressing. This allows students to assess their learning to date, and those students who do not make the desired score are advised to spend some time reviewing content areas as a refresher, as a means for building and preparing for the second year.
Upon completion of the program, students again will receive a national test to assess their knowledge and ability to apply what they have learned through the program.”
The program will also be preparing for the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) visit in fall 2009. Department officials are required to complete a self-study and submit a detailed report addressing the criteria. This accrediting body visits schools by invitation, with the last accreditation visit in fall 2001. Three members of the faculty will be attending a self-study forum to learn about the criteria, which was recently revised, although the criteria to be used to prepare for the self-study report have not yet been published.
The Nursing faculty continue to work diligently to prepare for these visits; however, the focus of their attention remains preparing students for the profession of nursing. On any good day you can pass by the Nursing labs in SAHB building second floor and see both faculty and students engaging in skill practice.
These students also receive practical experience in the field. In the first quarter, they work with the school nurse at the Blue Ash Elementary School to conduct vision and hearing screenings, putting what they have learned in the classroom into practice. They also visit residents in assisted living communities. The faculty takes students to approximately 55 clinical agencies, spanning Hamilton, Butler, Clermont, and Warren counties, where they carry out supervised care of patients.
Students also care for clients in the community setting, accompanying nurses in the home to provide care for patients recently discharged to home, those who are home-bound, and chronically ill clients who require nursing care.
Pearce went on to say that the profession of nursing is “a dynamic, diverse, and rewarding career. Opportunities in the profession are great, as is the demand. The faculty is committed to preparing highly qualified nurses and continues to strive to provide a curriculum that meets the demands of health care today. We are proud of our students.”
Anyone who may have questions or an interest in nursing may visit the nursing web site at . Follow the Future Students link to Academic Departments and Programs and click on Nursing.