Mr. Hall explained, “We analyzed past and present NCLEX-PN
pass rates, weighted by year. It's our
pleasure to present this accolade to CA BOCES.
Our thanks to the entire team for their hard work and dedication to the
field.”
This news came as no surprise to Cathy Tomerlin, Coordinator
of Health Occupations at CA BOCES. She
said, “We have always had high state board pass rates – higher than state
averages. We are very proud of that and
have worked hard to get there.”
When asked what the contributing factors to their success
may be, Cathy touted their faculty and curriculum. Mrs. Tomerlin revealed, “We have dedicated
faculty and clinical instructors. They
are phenomenal. Students have to
complete 520 hours of clinical experience upon program completion, in addition
to the classroom work. It’s a
challenging two years.”
Karen Swanson, a second year student in the LPN program at
CA BOCES concurred with Tomerlin’s comments, “The courses are broken up into an
introduction, pathophysiology of the diagnosis, and the nursing care. That process is a huge help because it gets
you to think outside the box.”
She added, “Without the teachers preparing us, I would never
have been able to do this.”
Kim Howard is a practical nursing instructor with the CA
BOCES LPN program. She shared, “Because
we have a small faculty, we can reinforce what they need. I repeat information that is critical and
thread the important concepts throughout the course.”
As a student, Swanson believes the smaller class size is
another contributing factor to the program’s success. She offered, “With a small group, you are not
lost in the numbers.”
Swanson also enjoys the many ways the material is presented,
including lecture and online learning.
“Students are offered a lot of support here. Each instructor has a personal investment in
the students,” noted Kim Howard. “When
the state was here to do our reviews, one of our strengths was that we had
consistent faculty,” she added.
When asked if she felt she was prepared to enter the world
of nursing, Ms. Swanson replied, “I feel I am very well prepared. I am really glad I came here. It was a good life decision. It’s a high demand job, great pay and great
benefits. Also, there are jobs
everywhere around here.”
Mrs. Tomerlin agreed nursing opportunities in the area
abound. She said, “I get four to six
calls a month with openings for LPNs. We
know we are graduating very capable nurses.
It is wonderful to watch their progress over the two years.”
The CA BOCES Practical Nursing Program offers separate
two-year, part-time program at the CTE Center at Olean and the CTE Center at
Belmont. The program also offers adult
students the opportunity to practice patient-centered nursing care of all age
groups. Nursing theory and patient care
lab skills taught in the classroom are combined with a supervised clinical
experience to develop a knowledgeable competent nurse. The program is registered by the New York
State Education Department and prepares the students for admission to the state
licensing examination. For more
information visit the CA BOCES website at www.caboces.org.
