By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart

Cheers echoed across the Decker Health Science Building with the news that SUNY Broome’s most recent cohort of nursing graduates completed their National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) with a 92.4% pass rate. This stellar passing percentage surpasses both the New York State and National Associate Degree programs’ pass statistics. To meet the new standards required by the Next Generation NCLEX and bolster student performance outcomes, SUNY Broome’s Nursing Department has devoted the past two years comprehensively revamping the program’s instructional methods and preparation techniques. 

Spearheaded by the united team of Dr. Kimberly McLain, Associate Vice President and Dean of Health Sciences & Institutional Effectiveness, Michele McKay, Associate Dean of Nursing, and Tina Seedborg, Chairperson for Nursing and Assistant Professor, SUNY Broome’s nursing program is poised to enter its most successful and supportive era. 

It’s no secret that SUNY Broome’s NCLEX pass rates have ebbed and flowed over the past decade. A quick snapshot of the annual pass statistics tells a story filled with varying test-prep technologies and practices, classroom inconsistencies, and a global pandemic. Thankfully, Dr. McLain loves a good piece of data. So, together with McKay and Seedborg, the three nurses sat down to strategically revive each step of a SUNY Broome nursing student’s journey – from admission to graduation, NCLEX, and beyond. 

Under their new model, SUNY Broome’s nursing students are first met with a frank, student-focused academic advising session upon acceptance. During this meeting, students are proactively acquainted with the rigor of the nursing program and given a breakdown of the time commitments associated with classes, labs, clinical rotations, and project and test prep. Then, prior to the start of the semester, Dean McKay and Professor Seedborg host a nursing orientation in which students receive a comprehensive overview of the student handbook and the expectations for the program. This is also a time to connect students with campus-based resources, including the Accessibility Resources Office, Counseling Services, the Learning Assistance Department, and meet their designated Student Success Coach and Career Navigator.

“We’ve made a conscious effort to refer students to campus resources preemptively, instead of in the thick of semester when needs are higher,” shared Seedborg. “We want students to know how to seek out mental health support or who to contact to develop a study strategy. This past year, ARO was able to help two of our students with hearing impairments receive specialized adaptive stethoscopes. There is so much available for our students.” 

In the classroom, innovative changes were made to teaching pedagogies and the department’s NCLEX preparation plan. First and foremost, students are taught to ‘think like a nurse,’ a skill that requires both disciplined study and critical thinking. 

“The world of nursing is just saturated with information. We don’t want our students to simply memorize symptoms,” McKay and Seedborg explained. “Instead, through concept-based learning, we are training our students to think critically, assess situations, identify abnormalities, and pick ‘the best answer right now.’ In nursing, we don’t have right/wrong answers; we have ‘which answer is most correct, most important, and the top priority at this moment?’ This type of thinking best mirrors bedside care and is a big part of the Next Generation NCLEX.”

While students don’t take the NCLEX until after they graduate from SUNY Broome, studying officially begins the first week of their first semester. The department adopted ATI TEAS testing software and infused its study materials and practice exams into the program’s full curriculum. As the stakes dramatically ramp up during the second year of the nursing program, students must submit their personalized NCLEX study plan in their senior portfolio.

Impressive NCLEX results are just one of the many recent triumphs for SUNY Broome’s Nursing Department. Within the past four years, the size of SUNY Broome’s nursing classes has steadily increased to meet the growing healthcare workforce needs of the region. SUNY Broome’s highly coveted Nursing: Evening-Weekend: A.A.S. program transitioned from an every other spring semester admissions cycle to an annually enrolling program. The department also piloted its Nursing Transition Pathway for LPNs and Certified EMT-Ps this past fall, to overwhelming success. 

“Our recent successes are largely due to the rallying support of the local healthcare community and the campus community,” explained Dr. McLain. “Partners like Guthrie Lourdes, United Health Services, The Decker Foundation, and Binghamton University understood our valuable role of educating our community’s healthcare professionals and became truly invested in supporting our program’s growth and academic progress. The support of the College has been incredible, most notably from Dr. Penny Kelly, Vice President for Academic Affairs. She is a true partner of the program and the division. Dr. Kelly located funding to support professional development for the program’s faculty, helped to secure grants to provide for additional equipment and expansion of the nursing lab to increase enrollment, and has been a fierce advocate for the program.”

Steadfast campus support from the College’s administration and the SUNY Broome Foundation were instrumental in bringing additional resources and support services to the nursing students. Some new offerings include RN-led supplemental instruction classes to mirror each degree-required course and expanded simulation-based learning opportunities. 

At the crux of the success efforts are the nursing program’s small but mighty team of dedicated full-time nurse educators. These professors innovatively promote active learning techniques and concept-based prep.  

  • Holly Farwell – Assistant Professor 
  • Leora Kenney – Assistant Professor 
  • Barbara Puzakulics – Clinical Nursing Skills Center Instructional Specialist/Adjunct Instructor
  • Tina Seedborg – Assistant Professor/Chairperson for Nursing
  • Samantha Stropko-Cuno – Assistant Professor
  • Dr. Denisa Talovic – Professor 
  • Rosanne West – Associate Professor

Special thanks to the nursing department’s secretary, Maralena Dropp, Technical Assistant, Rebecca Caldwell,  and team of dedicated and superb clinical adjuncts for their support and critical contributions to student success. 

Interested in learning more about SUNY Broome’s Nursing: A.A.S., Nursing: Evening-Weekend: A.A.S., or Nursing: Transition Course Pathway for LPNs and Certified EMT-Ps? Contact SUNY Broome’s Admissions Office at 607-778-5001 for more information about nursing and about the Competitive Admissions Process.

Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers

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