Homestead Scores 100% on NCLEX; Everyone Passes

Torrance, California

Homestead Schools located in Torrance, Calif. sent first of its vocational nursing students who started the class in 2007 for NCLEX, a requisite to getting a license to practice. To no one's surprise, Homestead scored 100% - everyone who took the exam passed. This was great news for the school and the students who've spent more than a year to realize the dream of their lives.

Homestead started its vocational nursing program in January 2007 with 15 students aspiring to become productive members of the healthcare industry. Students came from varying backgrounds; some had worked as CNAs, while some others had no experience in the health industry. But what they all shared was enthusiasm and determination to take that big step forward and launch a new career.

It's no secret that there's a great shortage of nurses across the country and particularly in California. The shortage is expected to get worse over the next few years as the healthcare industry struggles to provide adequate care to a burgeoning population under strict financial constraints. Hospitals constantly advertise in newspapers and trade magazines to recruit nurses and hold job fairs to fill vacancies. In fact, it's not unusual for hospitals to offer sign-up bonuses worth several thousand dollars to nurses.

This is exactly what attracts most young people to the nursing field; they're not looking for a job, they're looking for a career. And many of them are attracted to Homestead. The school offers flexible class schedules to accommodate the needs of students who in many cases are holding down a job while going to school; the school has morning classes, afternoon classes, and weekend classes.

The school has a policy of keeping classes small; most classes have fewer than 12 students and almost never more than 15. Instructors are able to provide individual attention to students. Further, in the classroom each student gets a desktop computer which is used to hone test-taking skills and do research on the Internet. NCLEX is administered on a computer and if the student has not acquired test-taking skills on a computer during the year, the student isn't likely to perform well in the final exam.

For clinical training the school has affiliation agreements with several local-area convalescent and long-term care facilities as well as clinics and hospitals that provide subacute and acute care. Students are accompanied to these facilities by instructors where they receive practical training in patient care. Again, there's generally one instructor per 6 students to provide close supervision and attention to detail.

In order to meet the demand of increasing student population for more clinical facilities, Homestead Schools recently lined up Centinela Hospital as one more acute care training site making Homestead as the only school with an LVN program at this hospital. Everyone at the school is excited about the prospect of training at such a state-of-the-art clinic in great proximity to the school.

So when you look at all the things Homestead is doing to enhance the educational experience of students it's no wonder that the school enjoys 100% pass rate on NCLEX for its students. Everyone-instructors, director of nursing, student counselors, staff members-is very proud of these students and wishes them continued success in their chosen career. Homestead Schools can be reached at 23800 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 200, Torrance, CA 90505. You can call them at (310) 791-9975 and ask to speak with student counselor, for more information.