That is the harsh reality that dozens of lower division nursing students at North Carolina A&T State University face as they return to school this semester after admission to the upper division of the school’s traditional nursing program was suspended due to lackluster pass rates on nursing licensure exams.
The UNC Board of Governors’ suspension at the nursing school—where there are 93 bachelor’s-seeking students—comes at a time when nursing schools in North Carolina, as elsewhere in the nation, are struggling to increase diversity within the state’s nursing workforce.
But perhaps more importantly, the suspension provides an interesting case-study for any nursing school administrator who is brought on to turn around a failing enterprise and for any university administrator who thinks a nursing school can survive for years on end without a permanent dean.
It also provides a reality check on how long it takes for nursing school reforms—from licensing exam “boot camps” and student “scorecards” to faculty and curriculum changes and higher admission standards—to yield results.
Though it is believed that affected students at North Carolina A&T—where 82 percent of the student population is African-American and 2 percent are Hispanic—will be able to study nursing at other nearby institutions, it remains to be seen whether they will do so or choose another field of study.
If the students leave nursing, it could hurt efforts to bring more diversity to the nursing profession and, ultimately, affect patients in low-income communities.
