Yemi Oladimeji, owner of A&D, said the board ignored evidence he furnished this spring showing that more than 95 percent of his students were passing "predictor" exams that are similar to the national licensing exam. Graduates are guaranteed jobs at Vivens's two nursing homes, the Washington Center for Aging and the J.B. Tuition is $7,750 for the one-year practical nursing program, and students are eligible for loans from Sallie Mae, a major student lender. Webster said that such assertions have never been proved and that other schools dispute them. That makes a higher fail rate inevitable for first-time test takers, she said. Vivens said she prefers to let everyone take the test because they have paid their tuition and deserve the chance. She said a key reason other schools have higher pass rates is that they do not permit all their students to take the test - only those each trade school thinks are ready. "I thought my school was the best school in the District of Columbia," she said. Solanges Vivens, owner of VMT and administrator of two nursing homes, called the nursing board "aggressive" and complained that Webster and her colleagues are interpreting the 75 percent cutoff in an unreasonable way and changing policies as they go along. In addition to passing rates, the nursing board considers curriculum plans, faculty credentials and the trade schools' methods of evaluating students. practical nursing schools from 2002 and the first half of 2003 were: Health Management Inc., 87 percent Hannah Harrison School, 66 percent University of the District of Columbia, 86 percent J.C. In addition, two new practical nursing schools are being organized that were approved by the board before it imposed a moratorium on additional practical nursing schools in June.įirst-time pass rates for other D.C.
The city has six private practical nursing schools and four nursing schools for RNs. She said the two schools pointed out that they had not been inspected in the past and were not prepared for regulatory oversight. Practical nursing programs are cropping up everywhere in the District, and the board suddenly realized that before we can continue to approve new schools, we need to improve the quality of the ones we have." "We expect that 75 percent pass the board on the first try, and our schools have been significantly behind that level. "The board has been vigorously trying to bring all the practical nursing programs up to the expected level of functioning in terms of pass rates," Webster said. Only the Virgin Islands and Guam had lower rates, but each had only a few test takers. In 2000, the latest year available, the passing rate for first-time test takers was 85 percent nationwide but only 48 percent in the District, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. A&D graduates fared worse, with passing rates ranging from 20 to 27 percent from 2001 through June 2003.
Passing rates ranged from 36 to 55 percent among VMT test-takers from 1999 through early 2003, according to nursing board files and the schools themselves. NW, and A&D Nursing Institute, 312 Riggs Rd. VMT Education Center, 4201 Connecticut Ave. Webster, said all practical nursing schools are subject to loss of accreditation under District regulations if fewer than 75 percent of their graduates pass the National Council Licensing Exam, a test administered nationwide for practical nurses. The chairman of the nursing board, Connie M. The city has 18,000 licensed RNs and about 2,600 licensed practical nurses. Practical nurses provide basic bedside care, while registered nurses perform a wide range of more sophisticated medical duties. Nursing homes are especially dependent on licensed practical nurses. The schools' owners said the board has been unfair and warned that its action will exacerbate a nursing shortage in the District. If court challenges do not succeed, the schools will be able to restore their programs only by applying for a totally new accreditation, a process that takes about a year. Practical nursing students who enrolled in the two schools before the early summer will be permitted to complete the 12-month or 18-month programs, but the nursing board barred new admissions. The board's recent decertification of the two programs has thrown the private institutions into turmoil and forced students to rearrange their plans for climbing the health care career ladder. Board of Nursing, a licensing and regulatory board that has made few waves in the past, has rattled the city's practical nursing schools with a campaign to shut down programs whose graduates fail the District licensing examination in large numbers. Two of the city's largest practical nursing programs have lost their right to admit new students after data showed that more than 50 percent of their students were failing their licensing exams.
0 kommentar(er)
