The Louisiana Nurses Foundation and the Louisiana State Nurses Associations confirmed what a lot of people already know about UL Lafayette’s Nursing Department. It’s one of the best.
The department, in the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions, received the Nursing School of the Year designation during a recent Nightingale Awards program. The awards are given annually.
The judging panel is drawn from out-of-state nurses associations including Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Nevada, and Delaware along with the American Nurses Association National Board of Directors.
“ To be selected by this expert national panel of our peers does indeed validate the quality of our program,” said Dr. Melinda Oberleitner, associate dean of the college.
It was the first time the school applied for the award. Its competition was LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans School of Nursing.
Judges reviewed student comments, pass rates on national exams, alumni support and innovations in teaching for the Nursing School of the Year Award.
The nursing department, which is one of the largest in the country, boasts a 97 percent pass rate for its undergraduate students taking the national licensure exam for the first time. It has maintained this high rate for more than 20 years.
Also, its graduate students in the Nurse Practitioner program post consistently high pass rates on their national exam.
The nursing department holds the distinction of being named a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League of Nurses and UL Lafayette is one of only two universities in the country to receive the NLN’s prestigious Center of Excellence designation for Creating Environments that Promote Ongoing Faculty Development.
The College is also the only one in Louisiana that has an adult care critical care simulation unit. It also operates a simulated neonatal, pediatric and labor delivery unit. Senior nursing students use sophisticated computerized simulators that can mimic real-world hospital situations in both laboratories.