Wednesday, March 7, 2001

Gordon's nursing program ranks first

Gordon College's nursing program has been ranked the best in the state among two-year colleges.

According to a recently published report by the Chauncey Group, an organization that provides state, national and international assessments, Gordon ranked number one because of its National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) scores.

The NCLEX is a state-required and state-administered examination that nurses must take in order to become registered to practice.

Statistics showed that for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 95.3 percent of Gordon College graduates passed the exam on the first attempt. Comparatively, the average first-time passing rate for the entire state during that same time period was 82.5 percent.

"This is a very exciting accomplishment," stated Dr. Pamela O'Neal, chair of the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences. "The fact that Gordon College has the best nursing program amid two-year colleges in the entire state of Georgia and the fact that we significantly exceeded the state's average is evidence of our program's strong curriculum."

Aside from being the best among two-year colleges, the Nursing Division placed fourth among 34 public and private nursing programs in the state. Also, the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission granted preliminary reaccreditation for eight years to the nursing program early last month.

"We have an outstanding program with a visionary goal of graduating academically stellar nursing students who will have a positive impact on reducing the clinical nursing shortage in the local and regional community," said Dr. O'Neal.

"With the support of Dr. Williamson, president of Gordon College, I know that we will be able to continue this trend of academic excellence."