I had to post this. Anyone attend here? http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/art...0745975823.txt


Out of 1,087 nursing programs in the country, the nursing program at the North Dakota State College of Science ranks No. 1.

"We were very excited about it," said Barb Diederick, NDSCS nursing department chair. "Very pleased and very excited."

The department received the results from Mountain Measurements, Inc., which does the National Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for practical nursing. "What they do is they rank your program, what it is in the state," Diederick said. "We rank No. 1 out of six in the state. And then it says we rank No. 1 out of 1,087, and that's across all jurisdictions. That's the entire United States."

The department has ranked No. 1 in the nation three or four times, she said. The NDSCS nursing department had 39 graduates in May 2010 and a 100 percent pass rate, which "put the number up there," said Diederick.

"Usually we run a graduation between 18 and 22, so having 39, which was with one of our outreach programs in Fargo, that put the number way up," she said. "There may be other programs in the state that had a hundred percent pass rate, but because they had less students, what you would find is they were rated number two or something else."

Diederick attributes the department's success to its dedicated staff and its emphasis on education. The students practice in laboratory and clinical settings to build concepts and increase the success rate, she said.

Diederick also attributes their having access to "wonderful clinical sites," including Sanford Health in Fargo, St. Francis Healthcare Campus in Breckenridge and St. Catherine's Living Center in Wahpeton.

"All of those help give them a really strong background in nursing," she said.

It also helps that the nursing program is fully accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, said Diederick.

"Because of that we continue to look into what works, what doesn't work, how can we change this to make it better for the students to help with their learning," she said.

One benefit of being the No. 1 ranked nursing program in the nation, said Diederick, is that "people know if they come here they will have an excellent education and they have a very good opportunity of passing the board for the first time."

"The national average for most national programs, if you look at all the jurisdictions, usually runs between 84 and 88 percent. It varies all the time," she said. "Ours usually runs between 96-100 percent pass rate."

Now there is a new group of students in the nursing program reading to take their board exams. The department goes the extra mile in helping its students be prepared, said Diederick.

"One of the things we try and do is, even before they take boards, we have things that they can study to help them prepare for it, which the college has purchased to help them," she said. "We really want them to be successful."