Elms Graduates 50 Nurses from RN-to-BS Degree-completion Program

CHICOPEE — Fifty registered nurses who have completed their baccalaureate degrees at the School of Nursing at Elms College were honored in a pinning ceremony held on May 15 in Veritas Auditorium on the college campus.

Elms College has developed partnerships with several area community colleges — Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, and Quinsigamond Community College — to allow registered nurses to complete bachelor’s degrees under the Elms program on campuses that are convenient for them.

“As you receive your pins tonight, savor this milestone moment,” Elms College President Mary Reap told the nurses in her address. “Now you may better serve your communities — a service that is at the very heart and soul of the mission of Elms College. The nursing pin you receive tonight is a symbol of your commitment to that service.”

Added Suzanne Barenski, director of RN Studies at Elms College, “nursing today is an exciting and challenging profession. It demands that nurses be able to think critically and to perform accurate assessments on clients, environments, and situations. Nurses need to serve as facilitators of change, they need to demonstrate leadership abilities, and they need to be able to work collaborate with other disciplines. Seeking knowledge to support their practice is a lifelong commitment.”

Kathleen Scoble, dean of the School of Nursing at Elms College, called achieving this degree is “a very significant step in these nurses’ careers. There are several reasons why it’s important for nurses to advance their education: nurses now need knowledge about health and geriatrics and leadership, research, and evidence-based practice, all of which the RN-to-BS program gave these nurses, building on their solid nursing foundation. These nurses are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities that face nursing and healthcare. Healthcare needs many changes, many better and more efficient ways to deliver care, to improve health, and to improve our patients’ experiences.”