Students at The University of Memphis Loewenberg School ofNursing are passing their licensure exams at a higher rate than anyother Tennessee Board of Regents institution and at a higher ratethan the national average.
In 2002, 97 percent of The U of M's nursing students passed theexam on their first try, well above the national average of 85percent, according to the National Council of State Boards ofNursing.
Approximately 88 percent of nursing students in all six TBRuniversities passed their exams on the first try, according toTBR's 2002 report card.
Dr. Toni Bargagliotti, dean of the Loewenberg School, attributesher students' success to their dedication, their faculty and theircurriculum.
"We just are blessed to have outstanding faculty and studentsand a great community," Bargagliotti said.
She also said the Loewenberg School exercises a competency-basedcurriculum unique to the entire nation. The Online Journal ofIssues in Nursing published the program and it was presented to theNational League for Nursing Education Summit in 1999 and 2000.
"You have to be competent to practice," Bargagliotti said. "Weactually test to see if students can do things in a clinicalsetting."
Ashley Shelton, president of The U of M Student NursesAssociation, said the Loewenberg School has been a great place forher to learn and practice.
"I think our professors and our clinicals are what makes ourprogram stand apart," Shelton said. "We are able to go in and outof every hospital in the city. Each hospital takes differentinsurance, so they have different kinds of patients, and we get towork with all of them."
Shelton said the competency-based curriculum helps studentsbreak down the curriculum into different steps.
"It helps the students and is kind of a motivator," Sheltonsaid. "You go through a class and in the middle of the class, youhave to be able to do a certain skill. When we realize we can doone thing, we can move on to the next."
Shelton said another unique aspect of the Loewenberg School isthe requirement for students to devote an entire semester tointensive care and community-based projects.
Bargagliotti, who has been with the Loewenberg School since itssecond year of existence in 1992, said a commitment to ongoinginnovation also makes The U of M's nursing program successful.
"We are a constant work in progress," she said. "You've got toconstantly be listening and looking for areas that need improvementand then you've got to do it."
The licensure exam changes every three years, so by the time thefreshmen class is graduating, the exam will have changed. This isanother reason the school is always looking for updatededucation.
"I'm not in a static discipline," Bargagliotti said. "I couldhave a great program today that could be way behind tomorrow."
The Loewenberg School admits about 112 to 116 students per classbut is looking to increase enrollment to about 160 per class.
Prerequisite courses nursing students must take before admissionare a major factor in the admission criteria. Students musttypically make a B or better in at least two of five courses:anatomy, physiology, microbiology, introductory chemistry andintermediate chemistry.
"Ironically, when you tell students this, it makes perfect senseto them," Bargagliotti said. "They don't want to waste their timeif they're not going to be successful."
The Loewenberg School is in the process of creating a master'sprogram, which officials hope to establish as early as nextyear.
"The biggest step is to have an incredibly strong and vibrantundergraduate program," Bargagliotti said. "That's where we reallytouch the community. They actually save lives."
