Nursing classes expand

Area hospitals will be able to hire more nurses in two years when Jefferson Community College graduates a second class of registered nurses.

A weekend nursing degree program was developed with part of the nearly $2 million U.S. Department of Labor grant the college received in January. Thirteen students who have been admitted will begin Jan. 8.

"We have so many people that cannot leave their full-time jobs because of health insurance and financial issues, and we really wanted to start this program, but were unable to before because of resources," said Marie A. Hess, the college's Department of Labor grant program coordinator and professor of nursing.

The Weekend Scholar Program will take place every other weekend from 4 to 7 p.m. Fridays and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays on the college campus off Coffeen Street. There will be only one makeup weekend per semester, but Ms. Hess said students may be able to make up a lab or another class during the week with the traditional nursing class.

The traditional associate nursing degree program begins each fall and has only 50 slots. Many younger students enroll in the fall program, while the weekend program consists of adult learners with an average age of about 35, Ms. Hess said.

"They are typically students that are coming back for a second career, people who've raised their families," she said.

Only nursing core courses will be offered, so students must complete their corequisites, such as anatomy, physiology and physical education, as well as their prerequisites, such as chemistry, biology and intermediate algebra, before the weekend program begins.

"This is all driven by the fact that we have a tremendous nursing shortage in our area," Ms. Hess said. "The hospitals all said we need more nurses. They're talking about as much as 50 to 60 percent could retire in the next five or six years, so we really need to train more people to take their place."

Ms. Hess said the college would like to admit 24 students to the Weekend Scholars Program in January 2011. Although Sept. 1 is the deadline to apply for the January 2011 class, students should complete basic course work now.

Ms. Hess said another component to the U.S. Department of Labor grant is tuition assistance for students seeking their bachelor's or master's degree in nursing education.

Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, offers family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and family nurse practitioner graduate programs at JCC.