Twenty-Three PA Nursing Programs Moved to Provisional Status for NCLEX Pass Rates Below 80%

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Unlike Florida, PA Board of Nursing has authority over nursing program approval and program closure. It closely monitors NCLEX pass rates with nursing programs moved to provisional status if NCLEX pass rates dip below 80%.  PA NCLEX pass rate is usually > 90% while in 2021 = 83.2% + 2022 = 79.2 during Covid pandemic.  Karen

Philadelphia Inquirer  7/11/23...
Six Philly-area nursing schools are being watched by state board
Quote

The state has flagged six Philadelphia-area nursing programs as needing improvement after too many of their graduates failed to pass their licensure exams last year.

Pennsylvania Board of Nursing's watch list swelled last year, as test scores nationally hit the lowest point in a decade.

Philadelphia universities, such as Thomas Jefferson and Temple, are among the training programs now operating with "provisional" approval, after failing a state requirement that at least 80% of first-time test takers pass.

A dip in scores

The primary quality measure tracked by the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing is the annual pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination. To approve educational programs, the state requires each year that at least 80% of first-time test takers pass the test, a prerequisite to getting a registered nurse license.

In 2021-22, the last testing cycle, the average pass rate in the United States dipped to 79% — the lowest in a decade.

In the 2017-2018 testing cycle, only three programs statewide dropped below the 80% pass rate, out of about 80 total.

In 2021-2022, 23 Pennsylvania programs failed to meet the benchmark as nearly 1,300 test takers failed. Six of these training programs were in the Philadelphia region.   They now are operating with provisional approval from the board of nursing, a temporary status that allows the board to demand reports, make campus visits, and impose restrictions such as limits on enrollment....

... Earlier this year, the national accrediting body, CCNE, withdrew its accreditation of the Lincoln University nursing program, the only such program at a historically Black college and university in Pennsylvania.

The program's leaders told the Board of Nursing in June that they decided not to appeal the decision and shut the program down.

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1 Votes
Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
NRSKarenRN said:

Unlike Florida, PA Board of Nursing has authority over nursing program approval and program closure. It closely monitors NCLEX pass rates with nursing programs moved to provisional status if NCLEX pass rates dip below 80%.  PA NXLEX pass rate is usually > 90% while in 2021 = 83.2% + 2022 = 79.2 during Covid pandemic..  Karen

Philadelphia Inquirer  7/11/23

Six Philly-area nursing schools are being watched by state board

The state requires that 80% of graduates from a nursing program pass the field's licensure exam.

I approve of this message!  Maybe we can get back to educating rather than graduating.

4 Votes
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

PA has had strong Board of Nursing education and consumer focus since I became licensed in 1977.  I watched my 82 BSN alma mater pass rate drop to 81% about 8yrs ago, resources added to improve test taking, course revamped, expanded student assistance and closer look at accepting students capable of college coursework along with intro college course offered over Summer prior to freshman year to lessen college coursework shock.

PA has the following # of programs leading to nursing degree:

  • Associate: 27
  • Baccalaureate: 44
  • Diploma: 15

Further info for considering choosing a nursing program:

Wishing another RN will be able to take my place as plan to fully retire in 2027 as 50 years enough and hope someone will be there when I need further care.  ?

4 Votes

They should also look at faculty shortages as well.  These professors are overworked and underpaid.  I'm a DNP-prepared NP and have over 18 years of nursing experience.  I would love to go into education part-time, but unfortunately, the salary across the board is so poor.  Qualified nurses do not want to leave their high-paying jobs to take a cut to go teach.

9 Votes
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
jadiva28_RN said:

They should also look at faculty shortages as well.  These professors are overworked and underpaid.  I'm a DNP-prepared NP and have over 18 years of nursing experience.  I would love to go into education part-time, but unfortunately, the salary across the board is so poor.  Qualified nurses do not want to leave their high-paying jobs to take a cut to go teach.

Agree 100%.  That's one of the issues Lincoln University faced over the past 10 years in existence leading to this years closure.

3 Votes

I feel kind of conflicted about this. I absolutely think we need to hold ourselves and the profession to the highest standard, but I think it's also important to consider the context.

I'm sure the NCLEX pass rates for the past two years are dipping because nursing education got so screwed up during the pandemic; the 2021 grads were the students who lived through classes abruptly going virtual with minimal lead-in time. I'm not condoning bringing under-qualified nurses into the workforce, but it seems like an unfortunate reality for students who graduated mid-pandemic.

Also, many of the nursing schools under consideration serve some of the most vulnerable and impoverished neighborhoods in Philadelphia, compared to schools like UPenn that have high pass rates and are sequestered in more affluent neighborhoods. I think it's valuable to continue to have nursing programs in diverse neighborhoods and environments. Rather than just cutting the programs off, I think it might be more beneficial to invest resources to help these nurses who are at risk of failing to become more successful.

3 Votes
Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
adventure_rn said:

I feel kind of conflicted about this. I absolutely think we need to hold ourselves and the profession to the highest standard, but I think it's also important to consider the context.

I'm sure the NCLEX pass rates for the past two years are dipping because nursing education got so screwed up during the pandemic; the 2021 grads were the students who lived through classes abruptly going virtual with minimal lead-in time. I'm not condoning bringing under-qualified nurses into the workforce, but it seems like an unfortunate reality for students who graduated mid-pandemic.

Also, many of the nursing schools under consideration serve some of the most vulnerable and impoverished neighborhoods in Philadelphia, compared to schools like UPenn that have high pass rates and are sequestered in more affluent neighborhoods. I think it's valuable to continue to have nursing programs in diverse neighborhoods and environments. Rather than just cutting the programs off, I think it might be more beneficial to invest resources to help these nurses who are at risk of failing to become more successful.

Why I wish they would bring diploma-hybrid programs back where the students could earn as they go.  In my dream, the non-clinical classes could come from a community college so that the credits could be transferred.  I know that the hospitals are resistant to this model (why they are so, I don't know).  It seems like a win-win to me for all involved.  I don't get it.  In the olden times, Columbia and Cornell universities had 5 year BSN degrees.  One could go anywhere for their pre-nursing classes and then enter the 3 year diploma program at Columbia or Cornell for diploma school prices.  Cornell refused me because of my general chemistry grades:(  In the far future I would go to Columbia for anesthesia school but even in those days, we had a residency portion where we earned enough to pay for the peanut butter sandwiches and subway fare.  It made all the difference to me to get that stipend.

4 Votes

Not surprised at this. A lot of nursing programs across the country are on life support. My state shut down its last diploma program due to poor pass rates, and this school used to be among the best. I hope this won't become a trend.

4 Votes
subee said:

Why I wish they would bring diploma-hybrid programs back where the students could earn as they go.  In my dream, the non-clinical classes could come from a community college so that the credits could be transferred.  I know that the hospitals are resistant to this model (why they are so, I don't know).  It seems like a win-win to me for all involved.  I don't get it.  In the olden times, Columbia and Cornell universities had 5 year BSN degrees.  One could go anywhere for their pre-nursing classes and then enter the 3 year diploma program at Columbia or Cornell for diploma school prices.  Cornell refused me because of my general chemistry grades:(  In the far future I would go to Columbia for anesthesia school but even in those days, we had a residency portion where we earned enough to pay for the peanut butter sandwiches and subway fare.  It made all the difference to me to get that stipend.

Great as Cornell's program was it like many other hospital-based diploma programs could not financially survive changes in healthcare financing that began in 1970's.

When private insurers along with federal government (via Medicare) told hospitals they would no longer pay for care not performed by licensed professional or practical/vocational nurses it put tremendous financial pressure on hospital run nursing programs.  

In many places student nurses provided major portion of patient care as part of of their education (or training if you will). This was essentially free labor for hospitals that owned said schools. Once that was taken off the table hospitals had to balance whatever laudable goals of having their own nursing programs versus financial reality. 

Cornell's nursing program lacked an endowment which also contributed to financial strain. 

https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/nursing-school/

 

 

 

1 Votes

Little tidbit....

From once a high of nearly 2k diploma RN nursing programs in USA numbers have shrunk to barely 100. Only about 6% of graduate nurses sitting for NCLEX attended diploma schools.

For various reasons PA long loved themselves hospital-based diploma nursing programs. Of the remaining number of diploma schools only Ohio has more than PA. Everywhere else it's usually just one lone program per state if diploma programs exist at all. 

On bright side if one examines link provided above to PA NCLEX pass rates St. Lukes and other diploma schools of nursing have excellent pass rates, >90% to 100% 

1 Votes
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