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Bethlehem, Pa. -- St. Luke’s School of Nursing ranks fifth out of 76 programs in Pennsylvania, according to the website RegisteredNursing.org. The rankings are based on the performance of the school’s graduates on the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) board exam.

St. Luke’s received the highest ranking of all the nursing programs in the Lehigh Valley.

“This ranking is a validation of how St. Luke’s School of Nursing (SON) carries out its mission of providing quality nursing education to a diverse group of students that enables them to become leaders in providing compassionate, high quality health-care to those they serve,” said School Director Sandra Mesics, RN, MSN, CNM.

“For the past five years, we have exceeded the national average pass rate on boards,” Mesics said. “Our pass rate on this exam has ranged from 89 to 98 percent while the national average is 82 to 90 percent.” The SON’s pass rate for this ranking was 95.79 percent.

Established in 1884, St. Luke’s School of Nursing was the fourth nursing school in the United States. It remains the oldest, continuously operating school of nursing in the country. More than 4,000 have graduated since its founding.

A new class cohort is enrolled every eight months. The program is 20 months over five semesters. The program includes 435 hours of classroom theory and 900 hours of clinical practice. Graduates earn a diploma in nursing and can sit for the board exam.  

The success of the nursing program is built upon the rich tradition of excellence that goes back 133 years, Mesics said. “We benefit from the tremendous learning resources available within the growing St. Luke’s University Health Network, a very talented faculty, a network nursing staff that values nursing education, and strong support from SLUHN administration.”

RegisteredNursing.org’s analysis is based on Pennsylvania’s 2015 pass rates, which are the latest available. Programs reviewed include schools that offer an Associate in Nursing (ADN/ASN), BSN, or Direct-Entry MSN Degree.

Media Contact:

Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network providing services at seven hospitals and more than 270 outpatient sites in the greater Lehigh Valley. The network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus. Dedicated to advancing health education, St. Luke’s operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing and 23 graduate medical educational programs and is considered a major teaching hospital – the only one in its region. Repeatedly, including 2017, St. Luke’s earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital and 50 Top Cardiovascular Program designations, in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as electronic medical records, telehealth, online scheduling and pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.