Six Philly-area nursing schools are being watched by state board

The state has flagged six Philadelphia-area nursing programs as needing improvement after too many of their graduates failed to pass their licensure exams last year.

Pennsylvania Board of Nursing’s watch list swelled last year, as test scores nationally hit the lowest point in a decade.

Philadelphia universities, such as Thomas Jefferson and Temple, are among the training programs now operating with “provisional” approval, after failing a state requirement that at least 80% of first-time test takers pass.

Educators blame pandemic learning loss for a trend that has led to one-third of the Philadelphia region’s roughly 20 nursing programs being downgraded to provisional status.

The primary quality measure tracked by the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing is the annual pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination. To approve educational programs, the state requires each year that at least 80% of first-time test takers pass the test, a prerequisite to getting a registered nurse license.

In 2021-22, the last testing cycle, the average pass rate in the United States dipped to 79% — the lowest in a decade.

The decline in test scores could delay the entrance of more recent graduates to the job market at a time when many hospitals are already reporting a shortage of nurses in hospitals. Pennsylvania allows graduates to begin working before passing the exam with a temporary permit but many other states do not.

The delay in employment could also mean a delay in the first paycheck for graduates who didn’t pass.

» READ MORE: As many nurses say they plan to leave bedside care, these Philly-area grads can’t wait for their first hospital job

Last year’s results declined notably from prior years.

In the 2017-2018 testing cycle, only three programs statewide dropped below the 80% pass rate, out of about 80 total.

In 2021-2022, 23 Pennsylvania programs failed to meet the benchmark as nearly 1,300 test takers failed. Six of these training programs were in the Philadelphia region.

They now are operating with provisional approval from the board of nursing, a temporary status that allows the board to demand reports, make campus visits, and impose restrictions such as limits on enrollment.

“It’s a big deal for us,” said Anne Krouse, the dean of the school of nursing at Widener University.

During the pandemic, Widener and other nursing programs struggled to get students clinical experience at a time when hospitals were closed to nonessential workers. Widener set up virtual sessions and simulations in an effort to maintain learning.

“There are just some students that that doesn’t always work for them,” Krouse said. “I think that’s where all those learning losses were for those students.”

She blamed its test score challenges — the program in Chester has seen a 79% pass rate in the last two years — on the pandemic.

Widener classes are now back in-person, and students have resumed training in hospitals. The university hired a consultant to help it improve the scores, Krouse said.

Student mental health challenges during the pandemic was another factor cited by Philadelphia-area nursing school deans.

“Many of the academic support resources students relied on were disrupted,” said Marie Ann Marino, dean of the Jefferson College of Nursing.

» READ MORE: Lincoln University closes its nursing program, leaving a hole in the pipeline of Black nurses

The Jefferson program’s results fell half a percentage point below the required 80% rate. Marino is confident that the dip is temporary and pointed out that the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) expects some fluctuation. Its accreditation depends on, among other things, maintaining an average 80% pass rate over three years in addition to other quality measures.

Many years of struggles were documented at the only nursing program in the region that has closed this year.

Earlier this year, the national accrediting body, CCNE, withdrew its accreditation of the Lincoln University nursing program, the only such program at a historically Black college and university in Pennsylvania.

The program’s leaders told the Board of Nursing in June that they decided not to appeal the decision and shut the program down.