Moultrie Technical College’s Tifton campus practical nursing program graduates from summer quarter 2010 finished their classroom work and clinical rotations at area hospitals and physicians’ offices in September.  However, college graduation is just the first of several steps necessary to land a job as a nurse.

Students are required to submit an application to the Georgia State Board of Nursing as well as the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, or NCSBN.

Aspiring practical nurses must then pass the difficult National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX, which is administered by the NCSBN.  The exam covers all aspects of professional nursing practice, specifically focusing on patient education, the nursing process and patient care.

Test-takers must pass the exam before they are allowed to begin working as licensed practical nurses, or LPNs.  The NCLEX had a national passing average of a mere 79 percent in 2010.  

According to test results released in December, the outlook is much brighter in this corner of southwest Georgia.  Moultrie Tech’s summer quarter graduates boast a 100 percent pass rate.

Moultrie Tech’s Tifton campus summer quarter graduates are Courtney Berger, Christie Crowder, Nichole Farmer, Renee Garvey, Jan Johnson, Tanada McKinnon, Kristie Seymour, Carol Sidaway, Michael Sidaway, Jerry Walker and Crystal Wortham.

Anyone interested in a career in practical nursing can contact instructors Deidre Dorman and Danny Warren at Moultrie Tech’s Tifton campus at 391-6955 or can log onto the college website at  www.moultrietech.edu for more information.  

New student registration for spring quarter is March 7.  Classes begin April 6.