Blinn Vocational Nursing Program pins 23 nursing graduates
Classroom, lab, and clinical experiences prepare students for rewarding healthcare careers
June 15, 2018
The Blinn College District recently recognized 23 new Vocational Nursing Program graduates with a pinning ceremony acknowledging their commitment to patient care.
Graduates received their pins Thursday, June 14, after successfully completing a rigorous 10-month program that consists of classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities through the Bryan-College Station area are utilized for clinical rotations.
This year’s graduating class includes: Erin Abbott (College Station), Jim Arriola (Bryan), Mirella Balderas (Caldwell), Pamela Beard (Bryan), Alison Boevers (Bryan), Elizabeth Buchanan (College Station), Emily Campos (Bryan), Olivia Caudle (Houston), Ashleigh Craig (Tomball), Genet Fleurant (College Station), Samantha Hatfield (Waller), Brenda Jimenez (Bryan), Melissa Jordan (Bryan), Ashley King (Bryan), Kayla Lamont (College Station), Chrisie Perez (Franklin), Lensey Ragnes (Caldwell), Alyssa Sanchez (College Station), Sadie Schultz (Bryan), Yolanda Shivers (Bryan), Detaysha Smith (Bryan), Stephanie Smith (Bryan), and Crystal Zavala (Bryan).
“We are very proud of the hard work and dedication our students have displayed throughout these challenging ten months,” Interim Program Director Michelle Marburger said. “We know they will continue to be successful in the future, and we wish them well as they enter the workforce to practice safe, prudent nursing.”
The Vocational Nursing Program is based at Blinn’s Health Science Center Campus in Bryan, a 26,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility featuring the latest clinical simulation technology. The facility includes an emergency medical services skills/simulation lab with an ambulance simulator, an operating room with attached scrub area, 16 mid-fidelity private hospital rooms, six low-fidelity private hospital rooms, six high-fidelity intensive care unit rooms, a physical therapy lab, two radiologic technology x-ray suites, one apartment setting room, and a virtual IV training room. Through faculty-developed simulations, students develop their procedural skills and enhance their clinical decision-making process in a safe, controlled healthcare environment.
Program graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX and the Nursing Jurisprudence Examination, and are considered licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) after passing both exams. The Blinn-Bryan Vocational Nursing Program has posted a 96.43 percent first-attempt pass rate on the NCLEX in the past five years. The statewide average is approximately 87 percent and the national average is approximately 84 percent.
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 12 percent nation-wide between 2016 and 2026, resulting in 88,900 additional positions. In 2017, the median pay for a vocational nurse in Texas was $45,030 per year, according to Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley.
For more information regarding the Blinn-Bryan Vocational Nursing Program, visit www.blinn.edu/vocational-nursing.
