ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — A group of Elon University students are celebrating after a major accomplishment.
Hard work and dedication landed 14 students a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the licensing exam for nurses.
One of the students who has since graduated spoke to News 2 about what this means for her place in the workforce.
Lauren Myers, a recent Elon University graduate, knew she wanted to become a nurse one day because of her love of helping people.
"I felt like it would be a great fit for my family once I had my daughter," said Myers.
She currently works as a registered nurse in the NICU taking care of newborn infants.
"After I had my daughter at Cone I had a great experience both in labor and delivery and in recovery I felt really inspired to join that particular service line," said Myers.
She owes her spot in the healthcare industry to the preparation she received at Elon.
"Our professors did a great job preparing us really from day one of our nursing programs. We used one particular program that we took the majority of our test on the entire time we were in nursing school," said Myers.
Myers graduated from the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing cohort. After all of the practice questions and rigorous courses, she and 13 other students achieved a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the national licensing exam for nurses.
"Many nurses pass this exam but on the first attempt it could be extremely difficult I would say nationally the first-time passing rate is anywhere from 80 to 85%," said Department Chair Tiffany Morris.
Morris said the 100 percent pass rate is a huge deal for the university because the accelerated program has only been around since 2021.
"We were the first group of faculty for syllabi, first course documents first time that we actually implemented this program at Elon and so when students came to us they were investing in us and trusting us to pass this exam," said Morris.
"To have everyone get through the first time we get to start working right out the gate was pretty amazing," said Myers.
With more nurses stepping into the industry, both Morris and Myers hope it will help the ongoing shortage.
"It's an exciting time to start being a nurse. It gives you a lot of opportunities to go into a field that you’re interested in," said Myers.
After the 100 percent pass rate, Myers is encouraged the accomplishment will inspire the next group to work just as hard.