The nursing program at the University of Mary in Bismarck has been named number 1 in America.
Nursing's national benchmarking service, Mountain Measurements, based its findings on the 2018 Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates who took the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses. All 66 graduates from the University of Mary passed on the first attempt. Jodi Roller is Dean of the School of Health Sciences at U-Mary. She says over the last several years, a lot of work has been done to fortify the curriculum of the nursing program. She also says the students come to the program with a strong foundation with their liberal arts education, and they are well supported by faculty.
"Our faculty really works hard one on one with our students, so if students struggle for example, they have a plan for success or working with them so they can master the material. I guess the bottom line is always about patient outcomes - we want our faculty to really prepare our students to meet the needs of our patients; in safety, in quality, in learning all the technology that's associated with taking care of clients today. All of those factors really round into making our students successful."
Turning out successful students who pass their licensure exam on the first try also helps to fill jobs in a field experiencing a shortage. If they do not pass, they have to wait 45 days to try again. This is the first time U-Mary has ranked #1 in the country. It tops a list of 2,061 nursing programs across the United States.
