Forty-seven Orvis School of Nursing graduates will celebrate their remarkable success at the Nursing Convocation May 15 at 4 p.m. in the Joe Crowley Student Union Ballroom.

Most noteworthy of this graduating class’ successes is its results on the Registered Nurse Comprehensive Predictor (RN Predictor) exam and its predicted performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

“I was blown out of the water by the results of the RN Predictor,” said Mary Ann Lambert, assistant professor and Orvis School of Nursing undergraduate adviser. “When we started administering the RN Predictor five to six years ago, the test average was 56 percent. Since that time test results have increased incrementally, and of the past two years of tests taken we have averaged 65 percent or better. The current graduating class’ average is 74.5 percent, which is the equivalent of scoring 98 percent on the NCLEX-RN examination.”

The RN Predictor is a proctored assessment designed for administration at the completion of program coursework in nursing. It is designed to assess the student's comprehensive knowledge base prior to graduation. Performance is 96 percent predictive of outcomes on the NCLEX-RN.

Entry into nursing practice in the United States and its territories is regulated by licensing authorities within each jurisdiction. To ensure public protection, each jurisdiction requires a candidate for licensure to pass an examination that measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level registered nurse.

The NCLEX-RN pass rate for Orvis School of Nursing graduates is impressive, and has shown improvement during the past several years. For the first quarter of the current calendar year the rate is 92 percent, which is the highest pass rate for Nevada’s nursing programs.

“Of the 47 students graduating (this semester), 40 of them scored higher than 70 percent on the RN Predictor,” Lambert said. “Eight students scored higher than 80 percent. These results demonstrate that our students are prepared to take and successfully pass the NCLEX exam after graduation.”

“The RN Predictor is a mind-boggling test,” graduating senior Paul Dente said. “It is very stressful, but I am confident that I can pass the NCLEX-RN and become an outstanding licensed nurse. I know I am prepared to care for patients in need.”

“There is a lot of pressure on the Nevada System of Higher Education institutions to increase the number of nurses we accept and graduate to meet the state’s needs,” pre-nursing anatomy and physiology professor Carol Ort said. “What is most impressive is how successful the University has been at increasing our enrollment numbers and increasing the quality of students we are graduating.

“The University has every right to be very, very proud of the nursing students coming out of the Orvis School of Nursing,” Ort said. “We assist them in the learning process, but they are the ones that do the learning. Luckily, when we need them as health care consumers we can appreciate the outstanding job they have done while they were students.”