U of M Nursing Grad Gets Nation's Top Test Score - Again

Master’s students in pediatric nursing are “best and brightest”

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (April 14, 2006) -- For the second consecutive year, a graduate of the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing obtained the highest score in the nation on the national certification examination administered by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

Wendy Clagett Kochevar received the top score on the 2005 exam, which had a pass rate of 77 percent among the nearly 600 pediatric nurse practitioners who took it nationwide. Kochevar completed the School of Nursing’s pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) graduate program in December 2004. In 1988, Kochevar earned her master’s at the University of Minnesota with a specialization in Child-bearing and Child-rearing Family Nursing.

A native of Mason City, Iowa, Kochevar has served in several pediatric nursing positions at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., since 1981, and recently accepted a position as a pediatric nurse practitioner in otolaryngology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.

“I was thrilled when I got the news,” Kochevar said. “The University of Minnesota clearly provided the preparation I needed to be successful.”

The top national scorer on last year’s exam was Alexis Maciej, also a 2004 graduate of the School of Nursing’s PNP program, specializing in the Children with Special Health Care Needs area of studies. Maciej currently works as a PNP in oncology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in Minneapolis.

“We’re very proud of Alexis and Wendy,” said Associate Professor Linda Lindeke, Ph.D., RN, CNP. “Their accomplishment on the PNP exam shows we are truly attracting the best and brightest students to the School of Nursing.”

The pediatric nurse practitioner area of study is one of 17 available to students in the School of Nursing’s master’s program. It incorporates theory and clinical courses to prepare students to provide comprehensive care to children with special health care needs and their families. Coursework includes nursing theory, moral/ethical issues, research, child assessment, management of childhood illnesses, and health policy. Upon completion, students are eligible to take the pnp certification examinations offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses.

The University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing, ranked among the nation’s top nursing schools, is a leader in improving health care through research, education, and service. Its nationally and world-renowned scientists discover practical health care treatments and solutions people can use today to improve their daily lives. The oldest continuing university-based school of nursing in the nation, it now has a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of approximately 850 students.

The school educates 55 percent of the faculty in Minnesota’s public and private nursing schools, advanced practice nurses, and nurses who can assume leadership positions.

The School of Nursing is part of the Academic Health Center, one of the most comprehensive facilities for health professionals in the nation, fostering interdisciplinary study, research, and education. For additional information on the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing, go to www.nursing.umn.edu.

Contact: Mary Pattock, School  of Nursing, 612-624-0939
Sara Buss, Academic Health Center, 612-624-2449