NM Junior College working to advance nursing skills
John Leacock/News-Sun
New Mexico’s nursing training has received recognition for its excellence, with New Mexico Junior College’s nursing program among the best LPN to RN efforts in the state.
NMJC’s program was recently ranked third in the state by Practical Nursing, an organization boosting LPN/LVN advancement. An LPN is a licensed practical nurse while an LVN is a licensed vocational nurse working under the supervision of a doctor or a registered nurse. NMJC’s courses, such as its LPN Step Out program, support the training and advancement of these nurses to RNs, or the broader clinical roles of a registered nurse.
LPNs can advance into those roles after 12 to 18 months of academic coursework at NMCJ to boost their RN eligibility.
The critical moment for those pursuing advancement is passing the exam called the NCLEX-RN on the first try. That first-time pass rate, without having to retake the exam, is an important marker for students.
“We’re required by the state of New Mexico to have an 80 percent pass rate, said Bobbi Davis, administrative assistant with the NMJC nursing program. “If you fall below that 80 percent, you have to take steps to figure out how you’re going to improve that.”
Practical Nursing praised that first-time passing success as a distinctive part of NMJC’s program.
Most LPN to RN programs in New Mexico lead to an associate degree in nursing, the Practical Nursing report said. New Mexico Junior College also stood out because it allows licensed LPNs with work experience to advance more rapidly to RN qualification.
To rate the New Mexico LPN to RN programs, Practical Nursing considered graduation and completion rates, NCLEX-RN pass rates, accreditation and board approval, retention and student-faculty ratios and cost. The state education institutions cited in order of rank were New Mexico State University-Dona Ana, Southeast New Mexico College in Carlsbad, New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, Brookline College-Albuquerque and Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque.
The programs are critical for the state. New Mexico’s rural counties have been burdened by “some of the thinnest RN staffing in the country,” according the Practical Nursing’s website.
Sally Lane, director of Allied Health and Nursing at NMJC, said its nursing program expects to continue with at least a 92-94 percent pass rate on its exam.
Down the line, these efforts go to addressing local health-care needs.
The nursing shortage isn’t just local. It’s also national, Lane said, and with programs like NMCJ’s available, it’s definitely worth it to seek advancement in nursing.
“We do provide our local hospitals with quite a few nurses,” Lane said. And though some do go to other states, including Texas, “the majority of our students stay local.”
Lane said though classes are usually filled, they would like to able to expand in the future, because the need is there. But admission is competitive.
“Every year we get 48-50 qualified students,” Lane said. “We take in as close to 50 as we can get depending on their qualifications.
“As a registered nurse, your scope of practice is larger so there are more skills that you could perform and you have a little more autonomy as an RN,” Lane said. “It’s providing the skills to be able to care for patients at a higher level.”
