For the second year in a row, RegisteredNursing.org has ranked Waynesburg University’s nursing program as the second best in the state of Pennsylvania.  

Funding schools from all 50 states, the organization judged several factors in determining the rankings, and how past and current students fared in the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses was heavily emphasized.   

Out of the seven registered nursing programs in the state, Waynesburg ranked behind just St. Francis University with a 97.97 rating out of a possible 100, with St. Francis finishing at 98.25.  

“It is indeed a prestigious honor to achieve such a significant ranking of No. 2 among the RN Programs in that state of Pennsylvania for the second consecutive year,” said Dr. Kathy Stolfer, associate professor of nursing and interim chair of the Department of Nursing. 

Stolfer, who has worked with the department since 2000, has seen the program “improve in numerous ways.”  

One such upgrade, according to Stolfer, has been the addition of the Simulation Lab 10 years ago.  

“Furthermore, the exemplary leadership and qualified faculty have been instrumental in elevating the program to its current level,” Stolfer said.  

Senior Julie Gerber has majored in nursing since she entered the university as a freshman. For Gerber, the ranking is another example of her efforts over the past four years, as well as the work of her peers in the department, not going unnoticed. 

“It’s definitely a really great honor knowing that we received that status with this ranking,” Gerber said. “So, I’m just very excited and proud of all the students in the program who put in the work and put in the hours of studying and just trying to make ourselves the best nurses possible. Knowing that [the] hard work is paying off is just a really good feeling and I’m really proud of all
of us.” 

When Gerber was still a student at Uniontown High School, the nursing program’s reputation is what sold her on attending Waynesburg University. Although Gerber’s time in the Department of Nursing hasn’t been easy, she feels that the hardships are necessary to ensure that students are ready for life after college.  

“Throughout my time being here, [the program has been] very demanding,” Gerber said. “But knowing that we’re going through all of this to make us better and to get us to our full potential, so we are safe and competent nurses, has really just been one of the reasons to push through it, knowing that in the end, it will all
pay off.” 

The Department of Nursing experienced a change recently, with Dr. Nancy Mosser retiring at the end of the Fall semester after 15 years as chair and director of the Department of Nursing. For Stolfer, the thing that will help the department maintain its success will be for everybody involved to work together 

“I strongly believe the key will be the strong collegial efforts of the nursing faculty to carry out the mission of the university, consistent with Nursing Department’s goals,” Stolfer said.  

“We will continue to work hard to prepare our nursing students to a commitment of life-long learning, be the nursing leaders of tomorrow and adapt to the ever-changing health care field based on societal needs… The nursing faculty will continue to prepare the nursing students of Waynesburg University to be competent professionals for tomorrow.”  

Gerber feels that, although Mosser is gone, the current faculty will hold on to what she contributed to the university. 

“We obviously had some big changes with Dr. Mosser retiring,” Gerber said. “But I feel like her philosophy and all the contributions she made to the program were definitely all followed and respected by the other faculty here. So, I feel like they all have that goal of holding on to the reputation that this program has.” 

Gerber believes that the program will flourish further after she graduates and that it has prepared her and her classmates for life after graduation. 

“I feel like the program will continue to have the same success,” she said.  “I’m really excited for [the future] just because whenever we do go out to clinical or when we’re applying for jobs, when people learn that we’re Waynesburg students, they definitely think very highly of us, and they say the best nurses come from Waynesburg.  So, it’s a good feeling knowing that I came from this program and I’m excited for the other nursing majors to also have that opportunity, and to really be prepared for whenever they get out there in the field.” 

Although Stolfer is pleased with the ranking, moving from No. 2 in the state to the top spot is motivation to continue to strive for improvement. 

“Yes; being so close to the top program certainly remains an incentive to continue our quest,” Stolfer said.  

“Having said that, we are extremely proud of our ability to maintain the second-place ranking for two years in a row.”