These days, nothing is easy. Community colleges have been put in the position of having to justify their very existence, and sometimes it almost seems as if the state’s budget is being balanced on the backs of New Mexico’s students. So when the word came in that all 14 graduates of our brand new nursing program had passed their national boards the first time out, it was a rare opportunity for celebration.
“We couldn’t be prouder of our students, or more excited for the future of this program and all that it means to our college and our community,” announced Executive Director Dr. Kate O’Neill. “This is a key component in economic development. Our mission is to train local people so they can live here, learn here, stay here, raise their families here and contribute to the fabric of the community.”
Kathy Falkenhagen, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing and head of the nursing program, explained:
“I think we can say it is a measurable example of our program being among the top nursing programs in the nation,” she said. “In order to keep our accreditation through the New Mexico Board of Nursing, we are required to have an 80 percent pass rate for graduates taking their National Council Licensure Exam to become registered nurses. I would say it is very unusual for a new program to have a 100 percent pass rate the first time around. Nationally, the pass rate is about 81 percent. These graduates certainly have set the bar high for future classes.”
Now the new registered nurses are in position to give back to a grateful community.
“Out of the 14 students that graduated and passed their boards, ten were hired immediately to work at Holy Cross. One went to Mountain Home Health Care, one will be doing missionary work in India, one student has relocated to Spain to do international nursing and one student returned to practice in her home town in North Carolina.”
With a nursing shortage so severe our hospital has had to bring nurses in from out of state, the economic benefits of the UNM-Taos nursing program are as substantial as its benefits to society. The starting salary for an RN is in the mid fifties, and with eleven new nurses practicing and living in Taos County now, this is good news for both our physical and economic health.
Yet, incredibly, on the same day it was announced that the last graduate had passed his boards, the state legislature chose to cut all nursing expansion funds in half in the 2012 budget. In many ways, the UNM-Taos nursing program and its fourteen outstanding scholars are the model for what small, rural community colleges aspire to across the state. But if providing affordable, top quality education, health care and jobs is no longer our top priority, one has to ask, what is?
By Bill Knief, UNM-Taos Public Relations
