At Montana Tech: Enhanced nursing program proposed

Montana Tech hopes to expand its popular nursing program by offering a bache lor’s of science degree in nursing in the fall. Plan to be put before regents this week

By Barbara LaBoe of The Montana Standard

Tech’s proposal goes before the state Board of Regents Thursday and has already gained approval from the other state campuses.

Barring any last-minute regent concerns, the program should be approved as part of the regents’ consent agenda and classes could begin in the fall, said Susan Patton, Tech’s vice chancellor of academic affairs and research.

“ We’re very excited about the possibilities,” said Jane Baker, dean of Tech’s College of Technology, where the nurs ing classrooms are located.

COT revamped its nursing offerings in 1999, adding a certified nurse’s assistant cer tificate and an associate’s reg istered nurse degree through the Tech campus to its exist ing licensed practical nursing program. The courses offer multiple entry and exit oppor tunities, so students can work in between training, or a sea soned professional can update skills without starting college again from scratch.

The programs also offer local health care workers a chance to update or advance their skills without leaving the area — something officials said is critical in a time of a statewide nursing shortage.

The immediately popular courses have 243 students enrolled in Tech and the COT, depending on their degrees. The first group of nurses graduated in May 2001, with 17 RNs and 27 LPNs taking part in a combined nurses’ pinning ceremony.

The proposed change would offer a bachelor’s of sci ence registered nursing pro gram and revamp the existing programs.

The LPN program, currently an associ ate’s degree, would revert back to a threesemester certificate program. Some of the LPN credits would transfer to the RN programs, but not all.

The existing RN program, which takes three years, will become a two-year associate degree, which will still allow students to qualify as RNs. The new bachelor’s of sci ence in nursing degree will be a four-year program — or two more years after the associate’s nursing degree, said Baker.

Students may secure their two-year RN degree and work for a few years before returning for their bache lor’s, Baker said. Or, they can stay in school and complete the entire program before seeking employment.

Two-year and four-year RN students take the same licens ing exam, but nurses with bachelor’s degrees can com mand higher salaries and can pursue further degrees, such as a master’s. A bachelor’s RN degree also is required to become a nurse practitioner.

The bachelor’s students would study on the COT campus, where the labs and classrooms are already designed, but would be counted as Montana Tech math and science depart ment students for enroll ment purposes.

The students requested the designation, Baker said, because it is easier to quali fy for financial aid as a Tech student rather than a COT student pursing a four-year degree.

Montana State University in Bozeman has long been the center of the state’s nursing education programs, offering bachelor’s and mas ter’s degrees. MSU-Northern in Havre offers an on-line degree program and the pri vate Carroll College in Helena offers nursing degrees.

Patton said Tech’s bache lor’s nursing degree will dif fer from MSU, though, in that more of the health-care training is up-front, with the required leadership and management courses com ing towards the end.

Tech will hire a director for the bachelor’s program. Tech hopes to find someone who could also work with the new healthcare infor matics program, which com bines medical training with high-tech computer studies, Patton said.

Also on Thursday, Tech is asking regents’ approval to change the name of its con trol systems option to an electrical engineering option within its general engineer ing degree. The change bet ter reflects students’ skills and also makes them more marketable than the rather narrowly defined control systems title, Patton said.

— Reporter Barbara LaBoe may be reached via e-mail at barbara.laboe(at)(at)mtstandard.com.

http://www.mtstandard.com/newslocal/lnews1.html