Preparing and Praising the Next Generation of Nurses All Year Long
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Written by: Laura E. Richeson, APR
While National Nurses Week shines a well-deserved spotlight on the compassion and dedication of nursing professionals, our focus on this high-demand field extends far beyond just one week. At Seminole State College of Florida, preparing future nurses is a year-round priority—one rooted in innovation, support and a deep understanding of the critical role nurses play in our community.
Beyond the Headlines
Despite recent headlines emphasizing low NCLEX-RN pass rates at certain institutions across the state, fully accredited and longstanding colleges within the Florida College System (FCS) continue to deliver high-quality training for nurses and healthcare professionals. NCLEX-RN is the national licensing exam which enables nursing graduates to practice as Registered Nurses (RNs).
There is a definite gap between accredited and non-accredited private and public nursing programs. Students seeking nursing training should carefully examine a program’s accreditation, NCLEX-RN pass rates, quality of the faculty and facilities, curriculum and cost.
Case in point, Seminole State’s nursing program is continually ranked top 10 in Florida for Associate Degree in Nursing graduates with the highest NCLEX-RN pass rates, and number one in Central Florida with 98.14% for calendar year 2024.
This far exceeds the national average of 82.21% and the Florida average of 75.2%.
Additionally, Seminole State offers valuable clinical partnerships with multiple hospitals including AdventHealth, HCA Healthcare, Nemours Hospital, and Orlando Health, each with caring and knowledgeable faculty to provide hands-on experience and excellent teaching skills.
College is an investment of time and money. By attending Seminole State, nursing students can finish just as fast as at a private college, at substantially lower cost, debt-free, and with a considerably higher probability of licensure and employment upon graduation.
Additionally, the job placement rate at Seminole State is 100% for all graduates ready to enter the job force. A small percentage chose to continue their higher education journey in specialized areas of practice.
“We are also seeing a significant increase in enrollment of the RN-to-BSN program with direct referrals from our healthcare partners,” said Nancy Gasper, dean of nursing at Seminole State College.
This increase in enrollment is a blend of two key factors in healthcare today.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) promotes the Magnet Recognition Program® and awards Magnet status to hospitals demonstrating excellence in nursing care, patient outcomes and innovation. Each of Seminole State’s healthcare partners maintain Magnet status.
Additionally, hospitals aim for an 80% or higher baccalaureate-prepared nursing workforce, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine's "The Future of Nursing" report in 2010. This target is intended to improve patient safety and outcomes by promoting higher levels of education and advanced practice skills among nurses.
“This is a win-win-win partnership: healthcare providers fund higher education for the student, Seminole State’s RN-to-BSN students receive exceptional training, and the community benefits from enhanced professionalism, collaboration and excellence in patient care,” Gasper continued.
“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the entire Seminole State College Nursing faculty and staff. Every professor I’ve worked with has been kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in student success....With the preparation and support I’ve received at SSC, I am confident that I am ready to take and pass the NCLEX-RN — and most importantly, be the kind of nurse who makes a real difference.”
- Claudia Somoza, Seminole State ASN nursing graduate, Spring 2025
Innovations & Expansions: The Next Chapter of the Nursing Program
In spring 2022, the first group of senior nursing students began receiving hands-on learning in a Dedicated Education Unit (DEU). Fast forward three years later to spring 2025, the DEU program has expanded to six units per term including the Mother-Baby unit at Orlando Health to provide care to both the mother and newborn after delivery, supporting bonding, breastfeeding and recovery.
“Our dedicated and talented faculty are shaping some of the best and brightest nursing students in Central Florida,” Gasper said. “Through our unique partnerships with AdventHealth, HCA Healthcare, Nemours Hospital and Orlando Health, we are enhancing classroom and simulation training with real-world learning opportunities. This hands-on experience helps our students gain the skills they need to step into their careers confidently and quickly to care for patients in our community who need them most.”
Florida matches contributions provided by AdventHealth and Orlando Health
Earlier this year, Seminole State secured $2 million in funding to better serve the community by providing funds for student scholarships, faculty recruitment, equipment purchases and the enhancement of simulation centers to advance high-quality nursing education programs.
The State of Florida awarded Seminole State $1 million from the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund. The grant matches $500,000 donated by each of the College’s leading healthcare provider partners, AdventHealth and Orlando Health.
This grant allows the College to replace and upgrade simulation equipment with state-of-the-art technology to include the Anatomage Table. This is a virtual dissection table that allows students to interact with digitized images of human cadavers. It uses a touchscreen interface and advanced imaging technologies to create a realistic 3D model of the human body, enabling users to dissect, rotate and manipulate the model as if they were working with a real cadaver.
Two Anatomage Tables are scheduled to arrive this summer with the ability to share across learning disciplines such as Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA), Respiratory Care, Pharmacy Technician and EMT.
Additionally, HCA Healthcare donates funds to be used for nursing and healthcare scholarships.
Expansion and remodel at the Altamonte Springs Campus
Seminole State's Altamonte Springs Campus.
This visual representation of the vision for the
campus shows the proposed location for a new
workforce building (in blue).
Design development continues as part of the expansion and remodel at the Altamonte Springs Campus to allow the College to move forward with plans for a new workforce building and the remodel of an existing building at the Altamonte Springs Campus.
Regular meetings have identified classroom, office, labs and overall workflow needs. Plans have evolved to create a full simulation hospital. A simulation hospital is a controlled, realistic environment designed to replicate real-world hospital settings. It will be used for training Seminole State allied healthcare and nursing students by simulating patient care scenarios. These simulations allow learners to practice clinical skills, decision-making and emergency responses without any risk to actual patients.
At the time of publication, the 2025 legislative session is underway, with Seminole State’s primary focus on securing a $20 million allocation to double the size of its nursing and healthcare programs and expand space for student services.
“The Altamonte Springs Campus has been at capacity since it opened in 2008. This funding will allow us to double our nursing and health care programs and provide additional space for student services, something that has been needed for a long time,” said Seminole State President Dr. Georgia Lorenz.
Learn more about the Nursing RN Program
Seminole State’s A.S., Nursing degree is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and fully approved by the Florida Board of Nursing. The ACEN also accredits Seminole State’s fully online RN-to-BSN baccalaureate program. Accreditation ensures that nursing graduates can be licensed in the State of Florida and provides more employment opportunities within the state’s healthcare systems.
For the busy working professional, the College also offers a part-time option for earning your associate degree in nursing. The full-time and part-time programs seamlessly transfer into the RN-to-BSN program. The fall 2025 application cycle begins May 12.
"Nursing is not for the faint of heart nor the empty of heart." – Unknown
Seminole State College’s Nursing Program, part of the Ann Wiggins Moore Center for Nursing and Healthcare Professionals, is consistently ranked as one of the best in the nation. Based at the Altamonte Springs Campus, the program’s facilities feature state-of-the-art healthcare labs and high-tech patient simulators. To learn more, go to seminolestate.edu/nursing.