A few months ago, South Florida Hospital News ran a story detailing how over 200 University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies baccalaureate nursing graduates significantly outperformed state and national first-time pass rates on the NCLEX in 2023. That achievement was no fluke. The school’s NCLEX pass rates have consistently exceeded state and national averages, a trend that shows no signs of slowing.
“I am thrilled to announce that our students have achieved a 100 percent passing rate on the NCLEX in the second quarter,” Dean Hudson Santos Jr. stated in a school-wide memo this past July. “This remarkable accomplishment is a testament to the exceptional quality of our faculty, staff, and program. Your leadership, commitment to excellence, and dedication to the undergraduate nursing program has made this achievement possible.”
In the first quarter of 2024, 92 of 94 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) graduates from the University of Miami passed the NCLEX-RN on first attempt. The next quarter, April through June, all 63 graduates who took the NCLEX-RN passed on first attempt. As a result, the school’s first-time pass rate for the first half of 2024 stands at 98.73 percent.
A near-perfect pass rate on the NCLEX is significant. First, average first-time pass rates for the NCLEX, a standardized licensing exam administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc., are commonly used as a metric in assessing overall nursing program quality. Second, you can’t become a registered nurse without passing the NCLEX-RN.
Touting numbers is one thing. Seeing their impact in the real world is quite another. A flurry of the school’s B.S.N. graduates took to social media this summer to share their excitement over passing the NCLEX-RN. One of those newly minted graduates was Samantha Melendez-Infante, B.S.N. ’24.
“I am thrilled to share that I have graduated from the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a minor in psychology this past May,” she posted. “I am even more excited to announce that I have successfully passed my NCLEX! I am looking forward to joining HCA Florida Aventura Hospital as a new grad nurse in orthopedics… and [to making] a positive impact on patient care... Here's to new beginnings and continued growth!”
Now, almost a month into her nurse residency at Aventura Hospital, Melendez-Infante said she is grateful she had the opportunity to attend nursing school at the University of Miami. “The School of Nursing and Health Studies really prepared me,” she said. “I feel very confident.”
The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies will host its Fall Academic Fair on September 19 at the University of Miami M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies, 5030 Brunson Drive, Coral Gables. Call 305-284-4325 or email SONHS@miami.edu for more information. Visit us online at www.sonhs.miami.edu/academics.
