DUBLIN — The North Carolina Board of Nursing has approved the implementation of a pathway for licensed practical nurses to meet admission requirements and transition into the registered nurse program at Bladen Community College.

LPNs will now have the opportunity to take N214 in the summer of 2016 and merge with the senior Associate Degree Nursing students in the last year of an ADN program. This bridge will allow students to complete the ADN program in three semesters. Successful candidates will be given credit for Nursing 111, Nursing 112, and Nursing 114. The total approval numbers for the BCC ADN program will increase from 40 to 50 students.

The Nursing and Allied Health director and faculty employ intense remediation efforts to facilitate the learning curve from knowledge and comprehension based tests to analysis and synthesis questions on the national licensure exam. Faculty use evidence-based instructional techniques and stay current in nursing educational opportunities for active learning.

Instructors foster an environment promoted by the Institute of Medicine which mandates education for all health care providers in the areas of quality improvement, interdisciplinary collaboration, patient-centered care, informatics, evidence-based practice, and safe passage through the health care system. Customer-focused care is modeled through a caring environment in which the nursing team demonstrates caring and student-centered practices, thereby fostering an environment in which the student can grow.

This meaningful achievement will impact financial aid for BCC’s current LPN students. Incoming classes should now get full financial aid because the PNE diploma program has the potential for students to bridge into an associate degree program. Many area schools offer the opportunity for registered nurses to attain a bachelor of science degree. The opportunity for the successful LPN to become a registered nurse now opens the door for students to pursue greater degrees.

In addition, Bladen Community College Allied Health also offers the opportunity for a paramedic to attain an associate degree through a bridge program.

For information about the LPN to RN Bridge, contact Sharron Thomas, director for Nursing and Allied Health at 910-879-5532 or Donald Bryan, director for EMS at 910-879-5629. For information about Bladen Community College, call 910-879-5500.

Cathy Kinlaw is the public information director for Bladen Community College.

Cathy Kinlaw

Bladen Community College