How 100% of HU Nursing Students Passed Their State Board Exams Four Years in a Row
Mekenzie Springer and her 14 classmates all passed their NCLEX exam on the first try in 2020. If the next class of students all hit the mark, they will continue this impressive streak.
By Halley Clark | December 4, 2023
GAME CHANGER: Mekenzie Springer holds her Huntington University diploma after graduating from the nursing program in 2020. (Photo provided by Mekenzie Springer)
For six weeks, from midnight to 6 a.m., Mekenzie Springer forced herself to stay awake. No, she wasn’t partying like some college students are. Instead, she was hyperfocused on her nursing study material. The date of her state board exam was looming, and the fate of her childhood dream rested in that test.
When she discovered midwifery–the profession of assisting women in childbirth–at 13, her passion for nursing ignited. That ambition was still there, and it was enough to pry her eyes open four nights a week for long study sessions.
Finally, the test day came for Springer and her 14 classmates. Years of hard work and endless studying were on trial. Yet, the questions were more challenging than many of them anticipated.
“I left, and I thought I failed it,” Springer recalls. “I called my professor, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ But apparently, that’s how a lot of people feel.”
Emotions flooded her mind. What would this failure mean for her career? However, fifteen minutes later, still concerned, she got a notification. It was an email with her nursing license number. She passed. In less than an hour, she got what would usually take days to receive. The pressure left her body. She was going to be a nurse.
Springer–who is currently enrolled in Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Nursing program–graduated from Huntington University in 2020, the year which began a streak of 100% state board pass rates. Since then, each HU nursing class has passed their NCLEX–National Council Licensure Examination–on the first try. This exam shows their awareness of fundamental nursing knowledge. Most importantly, though, it’s their gateway to receiving licensure as a nurse. If they don’t pass it, they must start their application again and pay the test fee, $350 in Indiana, and bear the time-consuming process.
REVAMPING EDUCATION: Jodi Eckert, HU director of nursing, poses for an official portrait. (Photo provided by Huntington University)
HU students are less likely to face failure than most, though. Their success number far exceeds the national average, which, in 2022, hit an all-time low of 79.9%, according to Ann Feeney of Nurse Journal (2023). Many attribute this to COVID-19’s impact on education, which led to canceled clinical hours, a lack of fieldwork and little in-person face time with practicing nurses. So, with the odds stacked against them, what has led to HU nursing’s consistent triumph? Jodi Eckert, Huntington University’s director of nursing, oversees the NCLEX prep course, a program to which she attributes most of this accomplishment.
Although the prep course had existed since the nursing program’s inception, Eckert says that about five years ago, she and some other educators redesigned it to equip students better. The NCLEX, which has anywhere from 85 to 150 questions, requires thorough education and training to ensure students can safely put fundamental knowledge into practice. On average each graduating class has 20-25 students and this course was necessary to ensure each felt confident on exam day.
“Four years of very rigorous education can literally come down to 75 questions,” said Eckert, “and that’s very daunting for students.”
To best leverage a student’s time, they split it into three sections. The first part is a weekly rapid content review. Secondly, they go through practice questions based on published testing blueprints. These documents allow them to build upon their knowledge and fill in gaps. Lastly, they review how to approach questions and strategically take a test.
Cassandra Norris, an HU nursing senior, says she sometimes feels anxious before an exam. And when she calculates the number of questions she needs to answer correctly and the amount she can get wrong, the pressure only mounts. But, after seeing that the last class all made it, her trust in HU’s nursing program is strong.
DUMBING IT DOWN: Cassandra Norris, Huntington University nursing student, adjusts the tracheostomy of a dummy referred to as Casey Smith. (Photo by Halley Clark)
“It does give me a lot of confidence knowing that the Huntington staff is preparing us for this test,” said Norris. “And that they are doing everything within their power to make sure we pass.”
Part of HU’s preparation is rooted in adaptability. In the fall of 2022, Huntington University had to quickly adjust curriculum when a new version of the NCLEX, the Next Generation NCLEX, came out. This updated version offered revamped quizzing. While this format may have been more efficient in the long run, educators still had to scramble to update their lessons. If they didn’t, students would enter uncharted territory on the exam.
“I met with faculty two days before the beginning of the fall of 2022,” explains Eckert, “and said we need to change some of what we’re doing in our classes in order to meet the needs of this class that is going to take this NexGen when they graduate.”
She says that while the faculty may have been irritated with the last-minute change to their curriculum, they did it in time and smoothly implemented it.
“I have a fantastic group of people who are very, very dedicated to the success of their students,” said Eckert, “and everybody rose to and exceeded my expectations.”
In April of 2023, when the NexGen NCLEX came out, HU students were among the first to take it. Their months of studying and mentorship were finally put to the test. It all paid off. Each student passed, bringing in another year of success for HU nursing.
According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the nationwide NCLEX pass rate went up 12% between the January-March and April-May 2023 time frame. The average was 95%, illustrating the benefits of the new test. This rejuvenated score places a much higher credibility behind new nurses countrywide. It also shows that nurses are knowledgeable and prepared for the field.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: Justine Buick, MSN RN and current NCLEX prep tutor, helps nursing students across the nation pass their state exams. (Photo provided by Justine Buick)
“Having a strong foundation for the exam is very important when transitioning into a nursing career,” says Justine Buick, former medical-surgical nurse and current NCLEX prep teacher for thenclextutor.com, in an email interview, “The NCLEX exam asks about very basic nursing content and then sees if you can apply that content into patient scenarios.”
Although passing scores have gone up, Buick acknowledges that some students struggle with taking tests, which doesn’t reflect the excellence they may still have in a clinical setting. In such cases, she recommends tutoring resources to supplement in-class knowledge.
The overall need for well-trained and certified nurses is critical. With a current nursing shortage, rising NCLEX pass rates could have a positive impact. With fewer healthcare educators, high turnover rates, and a low density of providers, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that America will need more than 275,000 nurses between 2020 and 2030 (2020).
“So there’s a high pressure,” Eckert said, “not only from an accreditation standpoint but from a nursing shortage standpoint, to have students graduate from programs, be able to pass that NCLEX and be ready to enter the practice setting.”
Beyond the statistics, Norris explains that a nurse-patient connection is an uncompromisable, critical bond. She grew up caring for eight younger siblings and became a CNA six years ago. Providing compassion to someone in a difficult situation is something she knows well.
“I think that the level of relationship that a nurse can have with a patient of any age is just so different from relationships that you’re going to have in other parts of your life,” said Norris. “There’s an understanding of, like, this could be the absolute worst time in your life or the best time in your life, and I get to be a part of that as a caregiver.”
HU is one of many universities filling the gap of supportive healthcare workers and has earned an impressive reputation for doing so with excellence. Springer, although relieved the NCLEX is a one-time test, says she would do it all over again to maintain her status as a HU alumnus. During her time as an ER nurse, working in the heat of the COVID pandemic, the HU name carried a far-reaching effect. It was more than their NCLEX scores but also their notoriety for dexterous nurses.
“So, I think they prepared us not only skill-wise,” Springer said, “like to give the right dose of medication, but also in all of the other aspects.”
She attributes HU to preparing her to interact with patients, instilling an eagerness to learn and be a good nurse overall. In that sense, HU’s state-board success rate is the cherry on top of an already respected nursing program.
As Norris prepares for her test this spring, she rests in the knowledge that she will undergo more NCLEX prep and a variety of refresher classes.
Norris added: “It makes me feel comfortable going into taking the NCLEX. Just to be ready for it.”
