MARIETTA, OH (May 23, 2019)— A national nursing advocacy organization has announced the top 20 Practical Nursing (PN) programs in Ohio and for the sixth year in a row, Washington State College of Ohio ranks among the best.
PracticalNursing.org ranked WSCO’s nursing program fourth among the 66 eligible programs in the state. The sixth-annual analysis provides a state-by-state ranking of practical nursing programs. WSCO has consistently maintained its position among the top ten schools for nursing, ranking fifth in 2018. “You can see they have made substantial strides to become a powerhouse nursing provider in Ohio,” Bryce Hall, owner of ESYOH, LLC, the parent company of practicalnursing.org, said of the WSCO PN program.
The website based its rankings on National Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) scores from the last five years, where, WSCO’s pass rate is an average of 96.5%. This is more than 13% higher than the national average and almost 15% higher than state averages. The NCLEX-PN is an indicator that graduates are proficient in the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for safe and effective entry-level nursing practice.
In addition to having some of the state’s highest licensure pass rates, WSCO’s practical nursing program also has a 100% job placement rate.
“We’ve worked hard to develop a great practical nursing program here at Washington State, and recognition like this validates our efforts,” said Alicia Warren, WSCO’s Practical Nursing Program Director. She credits the program’s ongoing success to several factors. “We have amazing faculty who truly want to see our students succeed, we’ve equipped our classrooms with the latest in technology to ensure our graduates are ready to work in a modern facility, and because we have small class sizes, we can give our students individualized attention. This combination has consistently given us a return of exceptional graduates.”
Washington State’s Associate Degree Nursing program also recently was recognized by a nursing advocacy group, RegisteredNursing.org, which ranked it No. 5 among the 94 registered nursing programs in Ohio. This distinction was based on the 100% pass rate on the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) and the program’s 100% job placement rating.
“We are very proud that both of our nursing programs have received these prestigious distinctions. These rankings are the result of the vision Washington State established from the beginning,” said WSCO Dean of Health and Sciences Dr. Heather Kincaid. “We’ve been unwavering in our expectations for both our faculty and our students because ultimately our goal is to graduate great nurses. We fortified our standards with exceptional training and strong student support and the result is licensing pass rates that put us among the best in the state.”
Kincaid noted the timing of the recent nursing accolades coincides with its newly established nursing pathway. “This recognition is coming at an exciting time for the College as we recently launched the new EARN pathway that will benefit our nursing students who want to move through our Practical Nursing program into our Associate Degree Nursing program.” She explained that EARN is an in-demand job advancement path, that is designed to meet the immediate needs of local healthcare providers by helping students progress through WSCO’s practical nursing program and then onto its associate degree nursing program while working in the healthcare field. This pathway is specifically designed to attract students who are prepared to work as they learn.
The WSCO Practical Nursing program is currently accepting applications for its full-time day and part-time evening programs. For additional information about the PN program or to download an application, visit http://www.wscc.edu/academics/health/practical-nursing/ or contact Alicia Warren at awarren@wscc.edu. Additional information about EARN can be found at https://www.wscc.edu/academics/health/earn or contact Amanda Stilgenbauer at astilgenbauer@wsc.edu.
To see the full list of schools included in the practicalnursing.org ranking, visit practicalnursing.org/lpn-programs/ohio/#rankings.
