New nursing program

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On Monday Somerset Community College hosted an Open House for students interested in submitting an application to the new LPN to ADN RN Nursing Program offered at McCreary Center.

By Eugenia Jones

In response to the nursing shortage happening both regionally and across the nation, candidates who are LPNs with unencumbered, unrestricted licenses and who have already fulfilled general education requirements now have the opportunity to apply to a fully accredited bridge program leading to associate nursing degrees (RN) and taught locally at the McCreary Center of Somerset Community College (SCC.)

“We are very excited to start this new McCreary Center nursing program,” McCreary Center Director Jill Lawson stated.  “We look forward to working with all applicants to the program.”

The first candidates to the McCreary County nursing program beginning spring semester 2022 are now submitting their applications. Applications will only be accepted through November 15, 2021. 

At SCC’s McCreary Center, nearly 5,000 square feet of space on the second floor has been transformed into an innovative learning center for nursing.  The dedicated nursing skills lab has six hospital beds and manikins, a dedicated laboratory with state-of-the-art patient simulators, meeting areas, faculty offices, and storage.  

Due to SCC’s partnerships with surrounding universities, students graduating from the McCreary Center with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from SCC will be able to easily transfer their credits towards a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

SCC’s nursing program is fully accredited.  Each year, more than 95% of SCC’s nursing students pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses.  This exam is the same national licensing exam that is required by all registered professional nurses.

Funding for the program was made possible through an ARC grant in partnership with the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) at Jacksboro and Oneida/Huntsville for a partnership they established, along with Somerset Community College, to address workforce needs in eight economically distressed counties in the two-state region. 

For more information, contact the McCreary Center by phoning 606-376-7505 and ask to be connected to information about the nursing program.  To learn more about the LPN to RN program visit https://bit.ly/3C8fmt.