Public Relations

Access Nursing Pinning Ceremony is Aug. 25, 2007

            BENTONVILLE – The inaugural Access Nursing (accelerated track) class will hold a pinning ceremony 2 P.M. Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Rogers High School auditorium. Access Nursing is a pilot program funded by a grant awarded under the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grants, as implemented by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

            Twenty-four students began their nursing-specific education in late May of 2006 and of those, 22 have completed a most rigorous educational track in 15 months. To be eligible for Access Nursing, the students must have completed all the required general education courses prior to entry into the accelerated track and are strongly encouraged to work no more than 10-12 hours per week at outside employment.

            Twenty-nine students will be pinned on Saturday. Seven students joined the class, either by transferring from the Traditional Nursing Track or from other nursing programs.

            Friends, family, NWACC administrators and nursing faculty will be on hand to celebrate this traditional “rite of passage” into the nursing profession.

            Most of the nurse graduates have already secured positions with area healthcare agencies and will begin employment as registered nurses, after successful completion of the NCLEX-RN exam.

            This national exam (commonly referred to as the “state board” exam) is required of all nursing students who receive either an Associate of Applied Science (ADN), Bachelors of Science (BSN) or a Diploma in nursing.

            Thirty students were selected for the second Access Nursing class and began their studies on May 29. All 30 students successfully completed the Fundamentals of Nursing course on August 21 and will return on September 10 to begin their second semester. Graduation and pinning is slated for late August 2008.

            NWACC’s Nursing Program graduated its first class in 1993 and now offers three tracks: the Traditional Track which takes 22 months to complete, the Access Nursing Track (15 months in length) and a new LPN to RN Transition Track, a pilot program partnering NWACC with Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale.

            Forty students were selected for the Traditional Track and began the Fundamentals course on August 20th. These students are slated for graduation and pinning in May 2009.

            In addition, 38 second-year students have returned for their third semester and will graduate in May 2008. In all, NWACC has 116 “future nurses” pursuing their dream this academic year.

            For more information about the Nursing Program at NWACC, check the website at nwacc.edu or call 619-4151 or stop by the Nursing Office in room 2050 of Burns Hall between the hours of 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday.

For questions/comments on this content, please contact Jim Hall jhall@nwacc.edu (479) 619-4182.