DANVILLE - Danville Regional Medical Center's School of Health Professions Nursing Program recently announced that students of its 2011 graduating class have exceeded the average national pass rate for scores on the National Council Licensing Examination (the required licensing test) for registered nurses.
As reported by the Virginia Board of Nursing, the 2011 pass rate for first-time exam takers was 87.83 percent for the state of Virginia.
The overall 2011 U.S. national average rate was 87.9 percent.
Danville Regional Medical Center's nursing program earned a total overall pass rate of 92.59 percent.
This is also higher than any individual state rate in the United States.
"For more than 20 years, our students have averaged a pass rate of 93.23 percent," said Kamela Deel, director of the hospital's nursing program.
"We're so proud of the students and so appreciative of the care our instructors take in teaching these future nurses."
Danville Regional Medical Center chief executive officer Eric Deaton agreed.
"This is a wonderful tribute to our faculty and staff who have done an outstanding job preparing our nursing graduates," said Deaton.
"As a long-time educator of nurses in our community, we're very proud of these students and the commitment they have made to caring for our community."
Virginia is one of 23 states that belong to the Nurse Licensure Compact that participates in a multi-state licensure model, allowing nurses to practice within the compact with a single license.