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Milligan and Northeast State partner
to meet region's critical nursing shortage
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (April 4, 2005) — To
help meet the critical nursing shortage in our region, Milligan College
has partnered with Northeast State
Technical Community College on a transfer agreement that enables
Northeast students to progress directly into the nursing major at Milligan
College – more quickly and more affordably.
The Presidents of both institutions – Dr.
Donald R. Jeanes of Milligan and Dr. William Locke of NSTCC – met Monday,
April 4, to sign the official paperwork.
Northeast State students participating in the
transfer agreement will complete 11 semester hours of pre-nursing
coursework at the Milligan campus while completing their Associate of
Science degree program at Northeast State. And all at Northeast State
tuition rates.
“The articulation agreement helps eliminate
an extra year of study that transfer students would typically have to do
to complete the pre-nursing courses,” explained Melinda Collins, director
of Milligan’s Bachelor of Science in
Nursing (B.S.N.) program and chair of the Area of Nursing. “The
students will be guided by Northeast State, as well as receive academic
advising from Milligan to ensure their transition is smooth.”
Students complete their first two years at
Northeast State and then transfer to Milligan to complete their bachelor’s
degree with a major in nursing. The program provides instruction in
general education core courses and areas of anatomy, physiology,
microbiology and chemistry.
Lana Hamilton, division chair of sciences at
Northeast State, said there are currently 800 pre-nursing students at
Northeast State and this new partnership with Milligan will help advance
many more of them into the nursing profession.
In 2003, Hamilton said that approximately 50
students who completed their Associate of Science degree and transferred
to a state institution to complete their B.S.N. found the nursing programs
full. This often led to a one to two year delay before the student could
graduate, complete the NCLEX-RN licensure exam and enter the workforce as
a registered nurse.
“We want to make sure qualified students are
not denied the opportunity to succeed because of lack of faculty,
classroom space or teaching materials,” said Collins.
This is good news for local healthcare
providers, who have noticed an increasing shortage in the availability of
qualified and skilled nurses.
“There is a severe nursing shortage
developing as the Baby Boomer generation becomes elderly and begins to
consume large amounts of health care associated with an aging population,”
said Dennis Vonderfecht, president and CEO of MSHA. “This staffing
shortage is a major issue for all healthcare facilities, particularly for
hospitals.”
MSHA Vice
President and Chief Nursing Officer Kathryn Wilhoit said the national
shortage is having an impact here in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest
Virginia. She acknowledged that there are so many opportunities for nurses
that the demand for such talents is outstripping the availability of
potential employers.
To proactively meet this need, MSHA has
provided Milligan a multi-year one million dollar grant to help the
college’s B.S.N. program accommodate more students. MSHA also established
a loan fund to provide financial assistance to deserving B.S.N. students
from counties in the Tri-Cities region. If the student begins immediate
full-time employment with a MSHA facility after graduation, then a portion
of the loan is forgiven.
Collins said that other scholarship
assistance is also available for Milligan’s B.S.N. program and the job
opportunities are numerous.
“Local students who want to be a nurse now
have incredible opportunities, thanks to these partnerships,” said
Collins. “They have a high-quality nursing program that is being made
available to them at a very affordable price. Plus, they are almost
guaranteed a job after graduation.”
Milligan’s B.S.N. program and its graduates
have built a reputation for success, achieving a near 100-percent pass
rate on the national licensure exam for the past six years in a row and
earning commendations from the Tennessee Board of Nursing. The
practice-based program has a tradition of 100 percent of its graduates
being employed upon graduation and 100 percent of those who have applied
to graduate school have been accepted to the school of their choice,
reported Collins.
“Milligan is very sensitive to our local
area’s need for Registered Nurses and is committed to providing the
highest quality of nursing education to as many students as possible who
wish to serve others through the profession of nursing,” said Collins.
“The transfer agreement with Northeast State is helping us do that.”
The transfer program is open to any NSTCC
student pursuing an Associate of Science degree and planning to advance to
a B.S.N. nursing program. In addition to talking with their advisor,
interested NESTCC students may contact the Milligan College Admissions
Office at 423.461.8730 or Area of Nursing at 423.461.8655 for more
information.
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