Northwestern's nursing program ranked among nation's best

Northwestern College’s nursing program has been ranked among the nation’s top 15 percent as well as 38th out of the best 75 in the Plains region by www.nursingschoolsalmanac.com.

More than 3,000 institutions offering nursing degrees were evaluated using three factors: the institution’s academic prestige and perceived value; the breadth and depth of nursing programs offered; and student success, particularly on the NCLEX national licensure exam. Schools from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota were included in the Plains region rankings.

The website notes several of Northwestern’s nursing program distinctives, including hands-on training through healthcare-related mission trips, a state-of-the-art nursing laboratory with human patient simulators, and the opportunity to serve abroad. It also highlights Northwestern graduates’ success on the NCLEX licensure exam with 87 percent passing on their first attempt.

“Northwestern nursing students learn to care for the whole person. The curriculum teaches students to be excellent clinicians who provide high-quality physical care, along with viewing the patient holistically so their emotional and spiritual needs are met,” says Dr. Julie Dragstra, assistant professor and nursing department chair at Northwestern. “Students are challenged to think critically and develop clinical reasoning to prepare them for a variety of practice settings. Our graduates are sought after by hospitals and other care providers, as they’re identified as well prepared to provide compassionate care.”

Northwestern offers a traditional undergraduate BSN degree in addition to an RN to BSN online option, both of which are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the Iowa Board of Nursing. The college’s nursing arts laboratory is located in the new DeWitt Family Science Center, and includes high-fidelity simulators and patient rooms, a flexible learning space with eight bays, IV training arms and other trainers, a hospital-based computerized medication system, and an electronic health record simulation program.

“Our nursing education has been greatly enhanced with the state-of-the-art equipment and realistic setting in the DeWitt Family Science Center,” says Dragstra.

Nursing Schools Almanac strives to provide detailed, comprehensive and analytical resources for aspiring nurses.