Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9505020009
SECTION: NURSES PAGE: N-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEWART MACINNIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"There is still a shortage of nurses," says Mildred Hopkins, coordinator of Radford University's undergraduate nursing program. "The shortage used to be in hospitals. It's not there so much now as it is in the community-based agencies, but there is very much a shortage."
Nursing education programs help fill that shortage and help practicing nurses gain the credentials they need to advance in a more competitive environment, she said.
The three main nursing education programs in the area are operated by Radford University, the College of Health Sciences and Virginia Western Community College.
Radford offers bachelor's programs in nursing at its Radford campus and at an off-campus site at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. It also offers master's level programs in nursing at the Radford campus.
The College of Health Sciences will begin a program this fall to help registered nurses with associate's degrees to earn a bachelor's degree. It will continue to offer its two-year associate's program, as will Virginia Western.
In addition to offering degrees, the three schools in the area prepare students to take the licensure examination required to become a registered nurse.
Hospital-based nursing schools aren't a thing of the past, but they are waning in importance, says Hopkins. The nearest hospital-based programs are in Lynchburg and Danville, she says.
The school-based programs here are similar in that students must complete a number of classroom courses, and participate in learning experiences in clinical settings in the community, such as hospitals, doctors' offices and clinics. Whenever the students are involved in patient care in the community, an instructor is present.
"We still prepare nurses for the hospital role, but we're shifting the emphasis to community-based nursing," says Hopkins.
At Radford, nursing students spend the first half of their four-year college career fulfilling general education requirements and sharpening their science and mathematics skills. When they finish that phase, they apply to be one of the 80 students admitted to the junior year of the nursing program. Those who are accepted embark on two years of intensive nursing courses.
Students entering the university RN to BS program are practicing nurses who have completed an associate degree. Their exact course of study depends on the courses they completed for their associate.
Programs offered at the Radford campus and at the Roanoke satellite location are identical, with the same faculty giving instruction at both locations.
For nurses with a bachelor's degree and at least one year of practice as a registered nurse, Radford offers two graduate programs leading to master's degrees.
The advanced adult health nursing program provides clinical specialization, emphasizing the nursing practice roles in several different health-care settings.
The home health nursing program provides clinical specialization, focusing on work with older adults.
Rebecca Clark, an associate professor of nursing education at the College of Health Sciences, says the college is starting its own RN to BS program this fall because it identified a need for it among nurses in the area.
The bachelor's program will focus on leadership and management skills, community health and nursing research, Clark says.
In addition to the associate's program, the College of Health Sciences has a program to prepare licensed practical nurses for the registered nurse's licensure examination.
The two-year associate's program at Virginia Western generally can accommodate only about one-third of the applicants for the 50 available seats in the first year of the program.
Students begin their course of studies with classroom work, graduating to work in laboratories, and finally participating in clinical learning experiences at local hospitals and other health-care facilities.
by CNB