SPOKANE, Wash. — Bucking the national employment trends, nursing students are being courted months before they graduate.
Nearly 30 health care recruiters will be looking for future nursing professionals during the semi-annual Intercollegiate College of Nursing/Washington State University College of Nursing Career Fair on Oct. 23.The event will be from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the College of Nursing campus located at 2917 W. Fort George Wright Drive.
Hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies and the Armed Service from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington will be vying for the attention of the 127 undergraduate and graduate students scheduled to enter the workforce in December.
“This event gives students an idea of the variety of professional options available when we graduate,” said Jennifer Zaremba, student event coordinator and senior class secretary/treasurer. “It’s exciting to hear how many of the students receive on-the-spot job offers from this event. Many of the agencies and hospitals offer incentives, loan repayment and other bonuses to recruit graduating students.”
The Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing students continue to receive multiple professional offers upon graduation. Placement rates average above 95 percent each semester. The growing nationwide nursing shortage has created opportunities for baccalaureate graduates to work in a variety of nursing fields, to choose their location and, often, to choose their area of specialty.
The fall 2003 graduating class includes 118 baccalaureate and nine master’s students from throughout the state including Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Walla Walla and Yakima. These students will graduate Dec. 12 and will then take their licensure exam. In order to receive a license to practice, registered nurse candidates take a test known as the National Council Licensure Examination, abbreviated to NCLEX ®. This test is given to assure that entry-level nurses are competent to perform effectively and safely. The Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing continues to have one of the highest pass rates for the NCLEX-RN licensure examination. May 2003 graduates achieved a 98 percent pass rate on the exam.
Established in 1968, the Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing is the nation’s first, oldest and most comprehensive nursing education consortium. The College of Nursing offers baccalaureate, graduate and professional development course work to nursing students enrolled through its four consortium partners, Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Washington State University and Whitworth College. Each year the college educates more than 600 graduate and upper-division undergraduate students and prepares more entry-level nurses than any other state educational institution. For more information about the College of Nursing visit the Web site at nursing.wsu.edu.
