The University of Nevada, Reno's Orvis School of Nursing has received the official year-to-date (Jan. 1-June 30, 2008) National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) pass rate results from the Nevada State Board of Nursing.

Since Jan. 1, the Orvis School of Nursing has had 82 graduates and 'first-time test takers' take the NCLEX-RN exam. Seventy-five of the 82 passed, giving Orvis a91.46 percent pass rate for first-time test takers for the first two quarters of 2008 combined.

"We're halfway through the year and going strong," said Patsy Ruchala, director of the nursing school. "At this point in the year, not only do we have the highest NCLEX-RN pass rate for the bachelor of science in nursing programs in the state, but we have the highest pass rate of all of the nursing programs in the state."

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 improved during the past several years. The 2008 first-quarter pass rate was 91.49 percent, which was the highest pass rate for the state's nursing programs. During the year's first quarter, there were 29,465 first-time NCLEX-RN test takers across the nation. The first-quarter national pass rate for first-time NCLEX-RN test-takers was 87.1 percent.

"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."

"I am proud of the Orvis School of Nursing academic faculty," Ruchala said. "The faculty and our support staff have played an important role in helping increase our NCLEX-RN pass rate over the last four years."

In the 2004 calendar year, the NCLEX-RN pass rate was 71 percent. In the most recent calendar year reporting period, Orvis graduates achieved an 87 percent rate in 2007.