The newest class of Palmetto Ridge nurses has done it again. Of the 54 graduates of the Associate Degree in Nursing program who sat for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam this year, 53 passed on their first attempt, a 98 percent first-time pass rate. The national average for associate degree programs hovers around 80 percent.
The class reflects the community the college serves. More than half are first-generation college students, nearly a third are parents, and the cohort includes military veterans, career changers in their forties, and students who first came to the United States as teenagers.
These graduates studied after night shifts, after bedtime stories, and after deployments. They earned every bit of this, and the Lowcountry is going to be healthier because of them.
— Dr. Grace Oyelaran, Director of Nursing Programs
What makes the difference
Faculty point to small clinical groups, a busy simulation lab in the Health Sciences Building, and an evening cohort that lets working adults complete clinicals without giving up a paycheck. Every student is paired with an alumni mentor working in a local hospital, and free NCLEX review sessions run throughout the final semester.
Nearly every graduate already has a job offer, many with hospitals and clinics in Charleston, Beaufort, and right here in Cypress Landing. Several plan to continue toward a bachelor’s degree through the college’s RN-to-BSN transfer agreements.
Applications for the next nursing cohort open November 2. Prospective students can learn more at the Fall Open House on October 17.