Nursing students provided advantage
Nursing students recently got a significant advantage in their quest to become working nurses. The Nipissing University/Canadore College collaborative Nursing program broke new ground for students, becoming the first Canadian Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to host a specialized Elsevier review to prepare students for a newly mandated examination.
Beginning in January 2015, to become a practicing nurse, a student must now successfully pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). This is in addition to previous requirements that they graduate from a BScN program and complete the College of Nurses jurisprudence certification. This new test is meant to ensure that students meet a minimum level of competency to perform safely in the workplace. Familiarity with alternative style test questions as well as a comprehensive content review including bioterrorism, legal, pediatrics, obstetrics, mental health and medical/surgical clinical concepts are essential strategies for passing this exam.
Review is the hot topic for preparing students for the NCLEX-RN Examination. To help students get ready for the new exam, the Nipissing/Canadore program arranged for an experienced Reviewer, Margaret McCormick, to conduct a three-day test review for twenty three graduating seniors.
McCormick has been a practicing Registered Nurse for thirty-seven years and currently works as a Clinical Associate Professor at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. She teaches pharmacology, pathophysiology, neurology, health assessment and conducts clinical supervision in the acute care setting. With her strong clinical and academic background, McCormick has been helping many American students pass the NCLEX-RN examination.
Having an experienced reviewer work with Canadian students provides consistency and accurate information about the NCLEX-RN testing format. Test taking tips for alternative style questions were shared with students along with other helpful mnemonics to remember important items.
“I found the review very helpful as a refresher. Margaret was a terrific presenter who went through all of the material we covered in the four years of the program so that it would be fresh in our minds going into the test,” said Abimbola Akomah, a fourth-year student who participated in the Elsevier review. “We also got some review questions from the NCLEX-RN test to help us better prepare.”