| GREENFIELD — Greenfield Community College has received a $25,000 grant from the Foundation of National Student Nurses’ Assoc. Inc. ‘Promise of Nursing’ program.
The funds will be used to develop and implement a recruitment effort directed at licensed practical nurses that are eligible to enroll directly into the second year nursing program and graduate with their associate’s degree in Nursing (ADN) at the end of that year.
“The LPN to RN bridge is the shortest route to becoming a registered nurse and, with enhanced advising and counseling support during the program, the most efficient and successful route to full employment in the nursing profession,” said Terri Mariani, GCC’s Nursing program director.
GCC will collaborate with area long-term care facilities, including Amherst Extended Care in Amherst; Buckley Nursing Home and Charlene Manor in Greenfield; Farren Care Center in Turners Falls; Heritage Hall Extended Care Facility in Agawam; Linda Manor, Northampton Nursing Home, and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Northampton; and SunBridge Care & Rehabilitation in Hadley, to identify LPNs in their employment and assist with the transition to nursing school.
“Our partnerships with these long-term care facilities are strong,” said Judi Singley, GCC Associate Dean of Health Occupations. “The proposed LPN to RN Bridge Program will help everyone address the serious issue of the nursing shortage.”
GCC will use a two-pronged approach to recruit and support the targeted LPNs – first, develop and disseminate a variety of recruitment materials, such as brochures, flyers, mailers, and recruitment fair props for the GCC ADN Program that will identify and market it as the extremely high-quality program that it is and create a fresh message that will make the case for moving from LPN to RN credentials.
Secondly, GCC will extend the enhanced first-year student-retention activities, such as counseling and tutoring support, to the newly recruited second-year students. The LPNs may have completed their schooling many years in the past and may require additional support for math and science coursework. Or their level of comfort with being back in school may be low. Or both circumstances may be true, requiring the full range of academic and counseling support services.
All GCC nursing faculty and staff will work to identify and assist each entrant to the second year program with both the transition to college and their ongoing scholastic work. |
