Eleven students graduated from the Practical Nursing Program at Pennsylvania College of Technology's North Campus near Wellsboro on Saturday, Dec. 18.The 12-month program, which began in January, prepares graduates for employment in hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and other health-care organizations.
The class was the first to complete the new vocational curriculum approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.Since 1983, the North Campus has graduated 17 classes of practical-nursing students with the last class finishing in 1997. With the demand for nurses expected to increase in the next10 years, the program will help alleviate the nursing shortage in the Northern Tier.
An LPN supply-and-demand study done recently at the University of California found that "LPNs are now and have historically been a necessary part of the nurse workforce in U.S. hospitals, long-term care facilities and other organizations that provide health care."
Graduates of the North Campus program will be eligible to sit for the National Council Examination for licensure as an LPN.
Certificates were presented to Danielle Adams and Deborah Lovenduski, Mansfield; Janelle Gorg, Galeton; Sarah Holleran, Gaines; Christine Short, Roaring Branch; Megan Getty, Millerton; Karen Stanley, Blossburg; and Gail Burns, Crystal Campbell, Lois Neal and Alice Perry, of Wellsboro.
The Lyle Goodreau Award for professionalism, personal growth, and excellence in the clinical area was presented to Crystal Campbell by Janie Hilfiger, chief nurse executive at Soldiers + Sailors Memorial Hospital, Wellsboro.Speaker for the event was Carol Kopp and musical selections were provided by Toni Burtch, both staff nurses at Soldiers + Sailors. A celebratory reception for family and friends was held following the graduation ceremony.