Schools
An Early Exit To Face The COVID-19 Surge Ahead For Some TU Students
"It's very satisfying to help in a time of crisis, when the state needs us," according to the chair.
By Cody Boteler on December 2, 2020
First-term nursing students, wearing full personal protective equipment, receive skills
instruction outdoors because of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Lauren Castellana.
Find out what's happening in Towsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Two-thirds of this term’s TU nursing graduates will exit the program early, working
in Maryland health care facilities during the latest COVID-19 surge.
Hayley Mark, chair of the Department of Nursing, says 51 graduates—or 66% of the winter Class
of 2020—have opted to leave early.
Find out what's happening in Towsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Towson University’s robust nursing program ensures students are prepared to pass their licensing examinations and enter the
health care field when they graduate. TU prepares and graduates more health care professionals
than any other university in Maryland.
“The students are ready to work now,” Mark says. “They’re safe, and they’re competent.
We would not let them exit early if we did not know they were ready.”
About 20 nursing graduates exited the program early last term.
In addition to required clinical rotations and classroom instruction, it is common
for TU nursing students to get experience as nursing assistants before they graduate.
Because of TU’s location in greater Baltimore and relationships with partner institutions
in the region, “well more than half” of TU nursing students graduate with some working
experience, Mark says.
The Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services activated a program that allows
nursing students and other health care students in Maryland colleges and universities
to join the state’s staffing surge capacity, according to Gov. Larry Hogan, who supports
the initiative.
“It's very satisfying to help in a time of crisis, when the state needs us,” Mark
says. “The students want to help. It's satisfying in that way too, allowing the students
to get out early and offer their skills.”
Hogan’s emergency orders allow nursing graduates to work before taking the National
Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), Mark says. Towson University graduates boast
a 90% pass rate on the NCLEX.
It’s up to individual hospitals or health care facilities to decide whether students
who exit programs early will work as a nurse or nursing assistant before they become
licensed, Mark says.
In the undergraduate nursing major, students spend their first two years completing prerequisite courses and their final
two years immersed in nursing-specific courses.
TU also offers degree completion programs for registered nurses or individuals who
have associate degrees.
Nursing students earn clinical hours in some of the nation’s leading health care facilities,
including The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Other partner institutions include Greater Baltimore
Medical Center (GBMC) and the University System of Maryland St. Joseph’s Medical Center.
This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland and BTU-Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore.
This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
