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There’s Never Been a Better Time To Be
a Nurse – Prepare at Northeast Alabama Community College
Health care is one of the best fields to get a job. The career
outlook for nurses is excellent. With the world population
living longer and requiring more care, national estimates
indicate that by the year 2020 there could be a shortage of
800,000 nurses.
And nursing is a highly regarded profession. There’s never been
a better time to become a nurse. Northeast Alabama Community
College can prepare you for an exiting career in the profession
of nursing.
Dr. Cindy Jones, Director of Nursing Education at Northeast
stated that the primary goal of the nursing faculty is to
prepare the RN (registered nursing) and PN (practical nursing)
graduates for the workplace. “Living in a rural area, we or a
member of our family will be on the receiving end of health care
at some point,” she said. “We want to feel confident that our
graduates will be able to safely provide care to us. According
to nurse recruiters from neighboring states, they have stated
that they had rather employ a nursing graduate from Northeast
than their own state because of their preparedness for the
workplace. Graduates often return to Northeast to express their
appreciation for the education they received at Northeast.”
 Recognizing
the need for health care training, Dr. David Campbell, NACC
President, several years back set as a goal the construction of
a new state-of-the-art health education building on campus. The
result was the Health Education Building that opened on the
Northeast campus in the fall of 2007.
“It was and is clear that in the future
there is going to be more and more a need for health care
workers, particularly in the nursing field,” Campbell stated.
“So we focused our planning on a building and training
facilities that could help prepare the absolute best nurses and
health care workers for our area.” Campbell noted that the
building was financed through a bond issue financed by the
college. “In a sense, our entire faculty, staff, students, and
community have helped us build this state-of-the-art facility
and we are fortunate that we have the finances to provide this
building for our health care programs.” Campbell added that in
the past several years the college also has made it a goal to
acquire the latest educational technology for staff and
students. The availability of this educational technology is a
unique feature of all programs at Northeast, particularly those
housed in the Health Education Building.
Campbell noted that he wanted the building to be a center for
health education in the area. Consequently, the college sponsors
a Health Lecture Series for NACC faculty, staff, students, and
the community. The lecture series, coordinated by Ms. Susan
Barron, has proven to be a popular addition to Northeast and has
provided beneficial information on health topics.
The nursing program moved into the new Health Education Building
in the fall of 2007. During open house in October 2007, a
reception was held for Chancellor Bradley Byrne. “He commented
that the Health Education (and Workforce Development) building
was the best that he had seen in the state, and that he would be
sending representatives from other colleges facing construction
projects to visit our facility,” said Jones.
Students have an optimal learning environment in this building,
with a theatre style classroom, a 12-bed hospital laboratory,
and a 30-station computer lab. The HE building has a large
student lounge equipped with a computer café and two study rooms
for group study sessions.
Jane Hopson, Practical Nursing Program Coordinator, added, “With
the new hospital lab we can broaden student learning before they
are assigned actual patients in the hospital setting. We are
very excited by the recent purchases of adult and child patient
simulators. These technologically advanced mannequins have the
capacity to simulate actual patient symptoms for the student to
experience, and learn appropriate reactions in the lab setting.
The mannequins give the faculty the opportunity to expose
students to situations that do not spontaneously arise in the
clinical environment.”
“As a doctoral student I have spoken at length with other nurse
educators from across the state,” said Myrna Williamson, nursing
instructor from Crossville (enrolled in a doctoral program at
the University of Alabama). “The technological resources
available at NACC for student use are above and beyond what is
offered at many other community colleges and universities.
Technology that is incorporated into the nursing classes are:
clickers used for review and assessment of understanding in the
classroom, WIMBA used to record and enhance lectures, and
BlackBoard used to post assignments and PowerPoint lectures, and
for remediation assignments, discussion boards, communications
and announcements. NACC students have the advantage of available
cutting edge technology which can enhance their learning
experience while at NACC and will serve to place them ahead of
the curve as they enter the workforce or transfer to a
university.”
Donna Watson, Level II Coordinator, RN Program, added that the
HE Building provides an environment conducive to learning.
“Computer labs offer students the opportunity to review and
research content presented in class as well as the opportunity
to practice NCLEX style test questions in preparation for
classroom exams. The student lounge with the two separate study
rooms allow students to gather or to work independently between
classes,” she stated.
Janet Gardner, Level I Coordinator, RN Program, agrees that the
nursing students have benefited greatly from the new facility.
“The students, at their convenience, have been able to practice
various skills in our large hospital lab. These opportunities
have provided them with the confidence they need to give good
nursing care.”
Class President/Curriculum Representative of the RN Class of
2009 Winnie Manning stated, "We view power points for our
lectures, watch educational videos, and engage in interactive
learning through the CPS clicker system in the large
theater-style classroom. I especially enjoy using the clickers
in class, because it helps me gauge where I am in my personal
studies. We also spend many hours in our computer lab watching
videos and taking practice tests that help us prepare for ‘the
big one’. Our hospital lab is complete with the latest high-tech
beds, IV pumps, and mannequins where we are able to practice all
of our skills before we get to the hospitals.”
During the students’ last semester, they complete a 90-hour
preceptorship where they work side-by-side with another nurse to
aide them in the transition to the workplace. “At the end of my
preceptorship, I felt especially proud when some nurses told me
that the group of students from Northeast Alabama Community
College were some of the best prepared students they had seen in
a long time,” continued Manning. “I contribute this compliment
to our facilities as well as to the dedication and determination
of our nursing instructors to produce well-prepared,
professional nursing graduates.”
Brandi Griggs, Second Level RN student, feels truly blessed to
be part of the Northeast nursing program. “I have greatly
benefited from the hospital lab with interactive mannequins that
allow us to use our assessment skills we have learned in the
classroom. I also had the opportunity to work in our hospital
lab with first level students as a work/study. This allowed me
to assist them with their nursing skills and assessments which
also helped me as well. Another awesome educational experience
has been the 90 hours that we are required to precept at area
hospitals with selected nurses. This has helped me tremendously
to begin the transition of nursing student to RN. We also have
wonderful instructors who are dedicated to our success. I know
without the technology of our Health Education building and the
knowledge and guidance of the nursing faculty I would not be as
prepared for NCLEX or my nursing career. I am proud to be a NACC
nursing student!”
Graduates from both RN and PN programs are usually employed by
the time they graduate. Employment rates following graduation
has ranged from 95-100%. Due to the number of RN and PN
graduates at Northeast, hospitals in our service area have not
yet experienced a nursing shortage. RN graduates are employable
in June and LPN graduates are ready for the workforce in August.
Peter Selman, Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb Regional Medical
Center, offered that “the NACC School of Nursing is a vital link
in our recruiting qualified nurses to join the staff at DeKalb
Regional Medical Center. DRMC has for many years maintained a
clinical affiliation agreement with NACC allowing DRMC to
participate as a clinical site for student enrolled in the
nursing program. The majority of RNs recruited to DRMC are
graduates of NACC. We are pleased to have such a high caliber of
nursing program in our community.”
A world of possibilities awaits you in the nursing profession.
If you are interested in an exciting career in nursing, please
phone the college at ext. 216 or go to these pages:
Nursing (Health
Sciences Division)
Admission
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