San Marcos,
12
March
2015
|
09:07 AM
America/Los_Angeles

CSUSM’s School of Nursing Ranked High in the Western Region

News Release by Triveni Sheshadri

The School of Nursing (SoN) at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) is one of only three in the California State University (CSU) system to make the top 15 list in a new ranking of nursing schools in the western United States.

SoN took the 13th spot in NurseJournal.org’s America’s Best Nursing Schools 2015 – Western Rankings. Criteria included institutional accreditation, National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate, undergraduate and graduate degrees offered, tuition, convenience, student retention rate and salary of graduates.

“We have an exceptional nursing school where students get a quality education,” said SoN Director Denise Boren. “We have a great faculty and the programs are rigorous. We focus on research and evidence-based practice.”

Boren also cited other factors that have made SoN a standout among nursing programs in the region.

“We have a 95 percent pass rate in the NCLEX ,” Boren said, referring to the national examination for the licensing of nurses. “Both our graduate and undergraduate programs are accredited by the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Programs. We provide state-of-the-art training facilities like the skills lab and simulation theater to our students.”

Other CSU nursing schools that made it to NurseJournal.org’s top 15 include Cal State Dominguez Hills, which took the top spot, and Chico State, ranked 10th.

America’s Best Nursing Schools 2015 – Western Rankings encompasses 442 nursing schools in the region.

“We set out to find the all-around best nursing schools in each region of the United States,” the website states. “To do this, we sat down with our community members to talk about what we think makes a good nursing school. We used 20 metrics and put them into five categories that we felt were both quantifiable (at least to a degree) and important: quality, affordability, convenience, satisfaction, and value.”

For a complete listing, visit http://nursejournal.org/articles/americas-best-nursing-schools.

About the CSUSM School of Nursing

Established in 2006, SoN is accredited by the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Programs (CCNP). The school is recognized statewide as an innovative leader in advancing nursing education. SoN prepares students in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs by offering a sophisticated learning environment that includes a simulation theater with high-fidelity mannequins, a nursing skills lab, opportunities for research, and rigorous clinical experience at local hospitals and other health care facilities. The school also runs four free health clinics in San Diego and Oceanside where nursing students provide care to under-served populations.