Polk State Nursing graduates achieve 100% pass rate on licensure exam
Polk State College’s Nursing Program is celebrating a 100% pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the last three quarters of 2023. The program’s Associate in Science graduates accomplished this on their first NCLEX attempts — a huge feat on an exam with a pass rate of only 58% for associate degree programs in Florida. This results in an overall annual pass rate of 95%.
This illustrates the return on recent investments made by the state and community partners to support nursing education and workforce development, including $1.45 million through the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) and Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education (PIPELINE) programs, and $1.7 million from AdventHealth to endow a Dean of Nursing position at Polk State.
“Polk State Nursing is really set apart because our classrooms are structured to provide practice sessions where we demonstrate clinical applications for theory. Students coming into any nursing program want to know that they can successfully graduate and secure nursing positions in areas of their interests,” said Dr. Deleise Wilson, Polk State’s AdventHealth Dean of Nursing. “Here we have mastered how to teach nursing students clinical judgment and decision-making.”
Wilson emphasized the expertise, professional experience, and genuine care of the Polk State Nursing faculty. Along with the support of advisors and tutors, access to advanced technology and hands-on learning opportunities, and strong connections to clinical sites and community partners, the College provides an outstanding nursing education that is highly sought after, especially in Polk County.
“That 100% pass rate means that every one of our students was able to complete the board [exam] successfully and will contribute to alleviating the shortage of nurses needed to meet the population and healthcare demands in Polk County and beyond,” Wilson said.
Nursing consistently lands on the Regional Demand Occupations List for Polk County, with approximately 300 vacancies each year. Polk State remains committed to preparing students for the in-demand, high-wage field and works closely with local healthcare partners to ensure graduates are well-equipped to join their teams.
Between its Associate in Science and Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs, Polk State graduates approximately 230 nurses annually and boasts a 100% employment rate.
With workforce demands continuing to increase, faculty and staff have worked diligently over the last two years to enhance and expand the Polk State Nursing Program.
Using LINE and PIPELINE funding, the program opened its Center for Human Simulation in November 2022 and developed additional tutoring resources for students. For LINE specifically, AdventHealth, BayCare, Lakeland Regional Health, and Orlando Health each contributed $15,000, which was matched by the state to provide the College with $120,000. Polk State was recently awarded another round of LINE funding — $160,000 — which will be used to further retrofit the Center for Human Simulation.
“We have such a great community of partnerships with all of the hospitals that come together to help us and support our students,” Professor of Nursing Danielle Delguidice said.
“That 100% pass rate means that every one of our students was able to complete the board [exam] successfully and will contribute to alleviating the shortage of nurses needed to meet the population and healthcare demands in Polk County and beyond.”
Dr. Deleise Wilson
Polk State AdventHealth Dean of Nursing
Students echoed this sentiment.
“This program has prepared me for success and to take the NCLEX because it allowed me to have a variety of hands-on practice,” Nursing 4 student Glainst Altidor said. “I chose Polk State College…, because it has a curriculum that is built for success. It also has a state-of-the-art lab that allows us to have that hands-on practice.”
“We have a very good balance of utilizing our skills here in the lab and also utilizing our skills in person in the hospital. The technology we use here is also accurate to what we experience in the hospital,” Nursing 1 student Jesse Soriano explained. “Knowing that there’s a 100% pass rate and also knowing the people behind the reason for that…, I am proud to represent being a Polk State Nursing student.”
Students also expressed gratitude for their professors, who have decades of professional experience and who remain on the cutting edge of best practices through externships, partnerships, and employment with local healthcare providers.
“We all come from different facilities and different areas of nursing, so we are able to offer the students a great deal of knowledge and support from multiple different disciplines,” Delguidice said.
“If someone was looking for a career in nursing, I would tell them that it is one of the most rewarding careers they could choose,” she added. “There is such diversity in what you can do. There are so many opportunities.”
The limited-admission, highly-sought Polk State Nursing Program application is currently open through May 31 for prospective students interested in enrolling for the Fall 2024 Semester. Information on future application periods is available by clicking here; additional information about the program is available at polk.edu/nursing.