Blinn welcomes 21 vocational nursing graduates to the profession with pinning ceremony
Local demand for vocational nurses is expected to increase 21.8 percent between 2012 and 2022
June 16, 2017
Twenty-one Blinn College vocational nursing graduates were welcomed to the profession during the Brenham Campus program’s 56th pinning ceremony Thursday, June 15.
This year’s graduates include: Arazeli Aranda (Giddings), Britney Dailey (Katy), Kirsten Diggs (Brenham), Taylor Dominguez (Ellinger), Karen Garza Ponce (Brenham), Tressie Hare (Brenham), Jennifer Harrison (Columbus), Vivian Hernandez (Giddings), Falan Hudspeth (Hempstead), Jena Hutchison (Sealy), Kimberly Labay (Brenham), Tiffany Martinez-Curtis (Somerville), Levar Mayberry (Brenham), Aubrey Olson (Bellville), Jessica Portillo (Hempstead), Henrietta Rincones (College Station), Luisa Rodriguez (Elgin), Joseph SanFilipo (Brenham), Sarah Grace Wallin (Columbus), Daysha Williams (Richmond), and Ina “Beth” Wilson (Burton).
“We are very proud of our graduates,” said Michelle Marburger, director of the Blinn-Brenham Vocational Nursing Program. “They have had a long and strenuous challenge to overcome in preparing to become a nurse, and we have enjoyed watching them learn and grow while working beside them.”
The 10-month program provides students the education and training necessary to become highly skilled licensed vocational nurses capable of working in a variety of medical settings. Students spend 35-40 hours each week engaged in classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences.
Graduates who pass their state board exams are qualified to work in a variety of settings, including home health, dialysis, hospitals, clinics and physicians’ offices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for vocational nurses is expected to grow 16 percent between 2014 and 2024, resulting in 117,300 additional positions. In 2015, the median pay for a Texas vocational nurse was $43,170 per year.
According to Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley, local demand for licensed vocational nurses is expected to increase 21.8 percent between 2012 and 2022, and 35 local positions are expected to open each year.
Earlier this year, PracticalNursing.org ranked Blinn-Brenham 11th out of 95 vocational nursing programs in the State of Texas. The rankings were based upon each school’s National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) rates over the past five years, with extra weight placed upon the most recent exams.
Over the past six years, 108 of the 109 Blinn-Brenham graduates to take the exam have passed on their first attempt. Nation-wide, that figure was approximately 82 percent. Last year, Blinn-Brenham was one of 13 Texas vocational nursing programs whose students achieved a 100 percent NCLEX pass rate.
For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/vocational-nursing/brenham.
