Blinn recognizes 35 Associate Degree Nursing graduates with pinning ceremony
Blinn ADN graduates rank among state leaders on national licensure exam
December 11, 2018
Thirty-five future nursing professionals were recognized with their nursing pins Saturday, Dec. 8, after completing the Blinn College District’s highly regarded Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Program.
Located at the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Bryan, Blinn’s two-year program prepares students for a nursing career and for transfer into a bachelor’s degree program at a four-year university.
The Fall 2018 graduating class includes: Linda Irene Amaya (College Station), Tori Williams Appelt (Hallettsville), Erin Arendt (Gainesville), Stephanie Bailey-Cranford (Giddings), Amber Barlaan (College Station), Ashlee Carter (Bryan), Cassandra Cordoves (North Richland Hills), Alyssa Noelle De Luna (College Station), Taelor Deike (Austin), Andrea Earwood (Bryan), Gabriela Granados (Bryan), Madeline Harwood (Plantersville), Leah Huggs (Houston), Hannah Hunt (College Station), Jennifer Izard (College Station), Lauren Jones-Finney (Hughes Springs), Katelin Lanting (Bryan), Chandler Lewis (Brownwood), Hannah Love-Wiley (Spruger), Yecika Luna (Anderson), Madison McCalip (Seguin), Jeffrey Merrill (Norfolk, Virginia), Molly Mills (Buda), Elena Morgan (College Station), Marion Pate (Bryan), Caity Perry (Weatherford), Lauren Privett (College Station), Nancy Roberts (College Station), Maira Samaniego (Eagle Lake), Ansel Schulenberg (Dallas), Alexandra Steinkamp (College Station), Caroline Trent (Sherman), Madison Vacek (Weimar), Heather Vanadore Hartmann (Bryan), and Pensacola Watson-Ward (Bryan).
Jones-Finney, Trent, and Love-Wiley each graduate as members of Alpha Delta Nu Nursing Honor Society. To be considered for membership, students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average both overall and in their nursing courses. Members also must demonstrate conduct on campus and in clinical areas reflecting integrity and professionalism, and complete a capstone project.
Blinn ADN graduates posted a 96.39 percent pass rate on the national licensure examination in 2018, surpassing the national average of 88.56 percent and the state average of 91.65 percent.
“Blinn nursing faculty have designed a hands-on curriculum that allows our students to put the lecture material to the test through their simulation and clinical experiences,” said Karla Ross, Program Director. “The quality of the program is reflected by our students’ success on the licensure examination, but more importantly, by the graduates who go on to enjoy long careers as caring, compassionate nursing professionals.”
Nursing students spend at least two days per week in clinical rotations, in addition to lab, simulation, and lecture time. Most students spend 15 to 24 hours each week in scheduled program activities and dedicate at least 30 hours per week to study and preparation.
Blinn’s ADN Program emphasizes interactive learning opportunities via clinical experiences and its simulation and clinical labs at the Health Science Center. The 26,000-square-foot Simulation Center 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, and
- a virtual IV training room.
“Simulation allows faculty to evaluate the students’ ability to critically and clinically think through what needs to be done and prioritize,” said Sami Rahman, Simulations Director. “If you make a mistake here, we can review the video and allow students to see where they went wrong so they can correct it during the next simulation and put the concepts they learn into practice.”
Students who complete Blinn’s ADN Program and pass the NCLEX-RN have a job placement rate between 97 and 100 percent and are qualified for a wide array of nursing positions, including pediatric, geriatric, hospice, school, and clinical nursing. New graduates can expect to earn an average of $53,000 per year.
In addition to associate degree nursing, Blinn’s Division of Health Sciences offers dental hygiene, emergency medical services, fire science, health information technology, physical therapist assistant, radiologic technology, surgical technology, and vocational nursing programs designed to train students for high-demand professions.
