| Lincoln Land Community College will boost enrollment in its registered nurse education program by 10 percent
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| Thursday
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Lincoln Land Community College will boost enrollment in its registered nurse education program by 10 percent, and shrink the waiting list to get into the program, because of a partnership with Memorial Health System that kicks off in January.
The health system, which operates Memorial Medical Center and hospitals in Lincoln and Taylorville, will supply two of its experienced nurses at no charge to help teach 20 additional Lincoln Land nursing students.
Those two faculty members — nurses with master’s degrees — will allow the evening track for LLCC’s associate’s degree nursing program to expand from 30 to 50 students.
Memorial’s commitment will continue through the 20 students’ two years in the program. Memorial also will give Lincoln Land $13,100 to pay for classroom supplies and faculty salaries to accommodate the 20 students.
“We are grateful to Memorial Health System and pleased that this agreement will allow more students to enter into the high-demand and high-need area of nursing,” LLCC President Charlotte Warren said in a news release Monday.
Memorial approached the college several months ago in search of ways to reduce the shortage of nurses in the Springfield area.
Memorial Medical Center employs 1,046 registered nurses and has an annual nursing vacancy rate of almost 12 percent.
Providing two nursing faculty members won’t take nurses away from the bedside at any of the health system’s hospitals, said Woody Hester, Memorial’s chief human resource officer. The two faculty members now provide internal training to Memorial’s own nurses, he said.
It would have cost Lincoln Land about $20,000 during the two-year period to hire the type of part-time faculty members being provided by Memorial, said Cynthia Maskey, LLCC’s associate dean for nursing.
As part of its partnership with the college, Memorial plans to offer full-ride scholarships worth $9,000 apiece to five Lincoln Land nursing students. Recipients must agree to a five-year work commitment with the health system after they complete their nursing education.
LLCC officials plan to seek the health system’s support for future years as well, Maskey said.
As it is, a student who wants to get into the nursing program has to wait 12 to 18 months, Maskey said.
“Twenty additional slots will hopefully make a dent in that waiting list,” she said, adding that Memorial’s partnership will “help some” in reducing the nursing shortage locally.
“It won’t relieve it completely,” she said.
LLCC, which has 190 students in its nursing program, is the largest single source of new nurses for Springfield’s hospitals.
Each year, the program graduates about 90 students, almost all of whom later pass a state test to become registered nurses.
Registered nurses in Springfield can earn full-time starting salaries of $45,000 to $50,000 per year, with salaries rising to $70,000 or more with several years of experience, Maskey said.
“Registered nurses are needed everywhere,” she said.
St. John’s Hospital, which employs 1,000 registered nurses and has a vacancy rate similar to Memorial’s, is considering expanding registered-nurse training at St. John’s College Department of Nursing, spokesman Brian Reardon said. That program offers a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
St. John’s employment manager Tracie Sayre commended Memorial officials for trying to ease the local nursing shortage, which is part of a nationwide problem.
“It’s great news for Springfield and the surrounding counties,” she said.
Registered Nurse |
posted by blogger @ 16:04
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| 1 Comments: |
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That's really nice. Being on the waiting list in most community colleges, they make you wait about two-three years to get in. That makes students just pay for private colleges for nursing, engulfing the $16500 for 1 year and a half to become an LPN. They don't put you on a wait list and if you start working right after you graduate via private college, you make up that money in three months... rather than waiting for two-three years and working somewhere else getting about $9.00 per hour. Good to see that they're trying to get more people into the nursing program quickly. This country does lack nurses.
I'm a nursing student going to a private college. If I had a choice of going to the community college near me without them putting me on the wait list for two years, I would've more than gladly enrolled there instead.
-Nurse Jen Doll
www.nursejendoll.com
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That's really nice. Being on the waiting list in most community colleges, they make you wait about two-three years to get in. That makes students just pay for private colleges for nursing, engulfing the $16500 for 1 year and a half to become an LPN. They don't put you on a wait list and if you start working right after you graduate via private college, you make up that money in three months... rather than waiting for two-three years and working somewhere else getting about $9.00 per hour. Good to see that they're trying to get more people into the nursing program quickly. This country does lack nurses.
I'm a nursing student going to a private college. If I had a choice of going to the community college near me without them putting me on the wait list for two years, I would've more than gladly enrolled there instead.
-Nurse Jen Doll
www.nursejendoll.com