For the 14th year, graduates pass certification exam on first attempt
All December graduates of Belmont’s Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) program for Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) passed the national certification exam on their first attempt. The College’s 100 percent first-time passage rate for all graduates – both MSN and DNP – has continued since 2004 and is well above the national average passing rate of 84 percent.
The School of Nursing began offering its MSN degree more than 20 years ago and with the addition of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2012, Belmont’s health sciences graduate programs continue to grow. Prepared to practice in a variety of settings, FNPs provide primary health care to families and individuals across the lifespan. Belmont graduate nursing alumni practice in a wide range of settings including primary care, pediatrics, genetics, urology, and public health.
Certification for FNPs is achieved through either the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board. Both certifying agencies offer rigorous examinations that validate nurse practitioner skills, knowledge and abilities. All but three states and virtually all employers and third-party insurers require board certification as a prerequisite to nurse practitioner practice.
“We are so proud of our recent graduates,” said Graduate Nursing Interim Director Linda Wofford. “Their success is a testament not only to their excellent clinical skills and strong foundational knowledge, but also to the continued work and investment of the graduate nursing faculty team to build on Belmont’s compelling legacy of success.”
Economics graduates Carson Ward, CEO, Logan Mathews, COO, and Jonathan Rankin, Creative Director, have developed Skoller, a classroom crowdsourcing app that provides students with a way to manage all of their class grade and assignments in one place – their smart phone. How does it work? With the hard work of the Skoller team, including Vanderbilt junior Bruce Brookshire, CTO, and a team of programmers, syllabi extractors, campus ambassadors and interns. Students simply upload their syllabi, and the team pulls out important dates and assignments to populate the user’s task list. Students can also input their grades and track their progress, and there is now an option to chat with other users in the class.
Her book also explores the education of women and minorities in Nashville. Pethel added that Nashville was a “magnet and a Mecca for black liberal arts and professional education.” Mitchell went on to speak about the history of African American education in Nashville noting that the city’s history as an educational hub began with the Civil War’s end. “How do you incorporate 3,000 freed slaves into society?” he asked. “The answer: you educate them.” Accordingly, what is now known as Fisk University opened in Nashville as the Fisk Free Colored School.
Alumna Shelby Blalock (’17) is a finalist for the American Prize in Composition in two categories including Orchestral Music (student division) for her piece “Out of Ashes” and in Instrumental Chamber Music (student division) for her piece “Precarious.” Both pieces were composed by Blalock while an undergraduate at Belmont.
After about a year of work, Dr. Kelly Garner, assistant professor of commercial voice, released a new choral book and recording of urban gospel arrangements, “Yes and Amen!” The book was distributed worldwide. Garner arranged nine of the 12 arrangements, along with highly acclaimed choral arranger Cliff Duren.
Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Composition Dr. Mark Volker recently released a new album titled “Young Prometheus – the Music of Mark Volker.” It features several of his most recent and successful works including “Quotations,” a suite performed by The Luna Nova Ensemble, “Dust to Dust” for string quartet and “Echoes of Yesterday” for clarinet. The title suite, “Young Prometheus,” is drawn from the music for the Nashville Ballet’s production “Frank.” The performers include Belmont’s own Kristian Klefstad, associate professor of piano, Carolyn Treybig, lecturer of flute and Alison Gooding Hoffman, School of Music instructor.
