For one Duquesne nursing student, graduation became 'worst experience' of her life
Bridget Seelinger sported a cap and gown and walked on stage during graduation ceremonies at Duquesne University in 2016.
She shook hands with Nursing School Dean Mary Ellen Glasgow and posed for a photo.
It was all for show.
She would not receive her hard-earned diploma and the nursing degree she'd worked on for four years.
What should have been a joyous occasion turned into what Seelinger described Wednesday as “the worst experience in my entire life.”
“My day was completely ruined,” Seelinger said.
On May 6, 2016, Seelinger, 23, was one of a group of students denied a diploma from Duquesne's nursing school because of a score on a standardized test.
After hiring a tutor and staying on at Duquesne in a freshman dorm for a month, she prevailed, met the required score and started her residency as an emergency room nurse at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C.
But the horrible memories came rushing back for Seelinger as she read accounts of students from this year's graduating nursing class who experienced the same ordeal.
The Tribune-Review first reported Tuesday that the students did not receive diplomas at Duquesne's graduation ceremonies in May because their scores did not meet a school-imposed minimum on a national preparatory test. That test, the Health Education Systems Incorporated exam, or HESI, is used by other schools in a similar way to prepare students for licensing exams.
If nursing students don't hit a mandated score on the HESI test, Duquesne will not allow them to receive diplomas or take the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX, a board exam required for nurses to obtain a state license.
“I have been talking to other alumni who went through this with me and we feel so bad for students stuck in that situation,” Seelinger told the Tribune-Review on Wednesday. “I really hope that Duquesne caves and gives them what they want.”
Duquesne stands firm by its policy.
“Local employers are seeking graduates who give evidence of being ready to succeed in the workforce, which includes being well prepared to pass the NCLEX on the first attempt,” Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare said in an email. “Duquesne is not out of the mainstream in using standardized testing.”
Fare said students have several opportunities to take the test, including once early in the year to give students the ability to work on any deficiencies. Following that, they must take the test twice and meet the benchmark at least once.
Duquesne's administration lowered the required HESI score to 900 from 925 a week ago.
The test has sparked controversy over the years. Earlier this year, University of Massachusetts Lowell School of Nursing administrators required a HESI score of 850 before graduation, but reversed that mandate March 8 after outcry from students.
About one in three nursing schools require students to obtain a minimum score on a standardized test in order to progress, according to the National League for Nursing. Twenty percent of nursing schools require a minimum standardized test score to graduate, the NLN said.
The NLN in a 2012 report said that standardized testing can help measure nursing competence.
However, “It is the prevalent use of standardized tests to block graduation or in some other way deny eligibility to take the licensing exam that is most concerning to the NLN.”
Seelinger, who grew up in Raleigh, N.C., complained that HESI study materials were scarce and students did not really know how to prepare.
She said the remedial course consisted of one hour of instruction a week with Duquesne's Remediation Coordinator Mary Meyers.
“There was a lot of blaming, how it was all our fault,” Seelinger said. “It definitely was not a kind, understanding environment.”
In a May 31 letter to those students affected this year, Glasgow said Duquesne is helping to try and preserve potential jobs.
“I have also been in communication with system chief nurse executives at Allegheny Health Network and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center System (UPMC). Both of them told me that they are willing to hold open many Duquesne students' summer-start graduate nursing positions for a reasonable period,” she wrote. “If you have not done so, please contact your Unit Director and Human Resources/Talent Management Representative concerning your delayed start date.”
Fare said “the university has not been made aware of a student losing a position. If there is a situation, the student should contact the School of Nursing.”
But Paul Furiga, a spokesman for some of families involved, said at least one student had a job rescinded.
“I also know half of these students have jobs that are hanging in the balance,” said Furiga, who is CEO of WordWrite Communications in Pittsburgh.
Seelinger said she originally had a HESI score of 861, which held her back. She then obtained a score of 850. On her third attempt, she scored 1060. She got her diploma, aced the NCLEX and started her residency on time on July 16, 2016. She recently got accepted to graduate school at East Tennessee State University, where she will study public health.
Before her third test, she said she hired an outside tutor for $100 a session.
“He was the only one who helped me understand the material and how to answer the questions and ultimately defeat HESI,” she said.
This year, Duquense's required HESI score of 925 prevented 34 of 156 students from graduating. After administrators agreed to lower the required score to 900, nine more were able to graduate. Additionally, one student won an appeal to immediately retake the test and passed.
Seelinger said about 20 students were prohibited from graduating last year due to the HESI requirements. Fare said she did not have record of how many were affected a year ago.
“While I don't have the specific number, like in any academic program, there are students who do not pass exams and must retake them, particularly in programs that prepare students for licensure,” Fare said in another email. “In nursing, the critical imperative is patient care and safety. Students need to have the technical knowledge to effectively treat patients. Additionally, if they do not pass the NCLEX they can face demotion or termination.”
The hard-line from Duquesne is what shifted Seelinger's opinion of the school. She was once publicity chair for Duquesne's Student Nurses Association.
“I was happy with Duquesne up until this incident,” she said. “After that, I saw a whole new side of them which I did not expect.”
Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Bencschmitt.
