1. A Partnership for nursing education in the rural communities of Southwest Virginia Virginia Appalachian Tricollege Nursing Program Kathy J. Mitchell, RN, MSN
10. Southwest Virginia Healthcare Workforce Development Consortium Lorri M. Huffard, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB Dean, Science & Health Division Wytheville Community College
19. Results: So Far Fall Admissions Graduates Program 2006 2007 2008 2009 2008 2009 MLT 4 8 10 0 3 8 Resp Therapy 15 8 12 11 14 8 OTA 0 0 13 16 Rad Tech 0 0 5 7 PTA 0 0 21 24 Totals 19 16 61 58 17 16
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Notas del editor
The Virginia Appalachian Tricollege Nursing Program is an associate degree nursing program consortium involving three community colleges, Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC), Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC), and Mountain Empire Community College (MECC). The program is administered by VHCC with a shared budget covering the program costs including faculty and program dean.
The program offers 5 tracks to provide flexibility to meet the needs of the student. The traditional program begin as a partnership between SWCC and VHCC in 1972 and expanded to include MECC. Since that time, the program has graduated more than 3000 students and is critical in providing adequately prepared registered nurses for the healthcare workforce of Southwest Virginia. With the recent decline in economy in our community, it began more difficult for the adult student to attend the rigorous scheduling of the traditional, Monday-Friday programing offered by Tracks 1, 2, & 4. In 2003, the Part-Time Evening/Weekend (PTEW) program was established through funding from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and piloted at SWCC with 15 students. The purpose of the PTEW is to provide nursing education to individuals in Southwest Virginia who are “trapped” in low-paying or dissatisfying jobs or who had other responsibilities that interfere with their abilities to attend the rigorous scheduling of the traditional 2 year program. The PTEW Program curriculum plan offers classes in a combination of evening, weekend, and distance learning. It is designed at a slower pace and requires an additional year for completion. Through continued funding from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor, the PTEW Program has expanded to Mountain Empire Community College and Virginia Highlands Community College. Since its beginning, the program retention/completion rate is 90% and at least 90% successfully completed the NCLEX-RN. At the end of the 2008-2009 academic year, 77 students have graduated from the program. The program has grown rapidly and has a current enrollment of 137 and expects to graduate over 50 students in both 2010 and 2011. The local hospitals recognize the PTEW Program as a way to “grow their own” nursing staff.
Guaranteed Enrollment to LPN to RN Part-Time Evening/Weekend Program for new grads with continuous enrollment to Community College
Beginning in fall 2010, the PTEW Program faculty salaries will be supported by Mountain State Health Alliance (MSHA). In addition, scholarships will be available through MSHA for students who are committed to the community and plan to work at a MSHA facility. Other health care organizations, such as Wellmont, also provide scholarships for students participating in the PTEW program and have providing financial support for adjunct faculty working with students at their facilities. The 4 year colleges, ODU, ETSU, UVA @ Wise, & King College, have excellent relationships with the VATNP grads and we encourage our students to continue their education to BSN and beyond.
The model of the PTEW Program is one that addresses problems encountered by other part-time programs and can be easily replicated. The program is successfully administered by three full-time instructors through the Virginia Distance Education Network, allowing students to participate in classes from any of the three schools without traveling outside their college service area. Clinical adjuncts are closely mentored and provide exceptional weekend clinical supervision in local hospitals. The program demonstrates the significance of partnering with federal, state, and local agencies to provide registered nurses to meet the workforce needs of Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and southern West Virginia.
Similar to the VATNP, the program is administered by SWCC and the program budget is shared equally by the 4 colleges with one program director and one accreditation process.
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