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always ready to fill the need
by Marcia Copper
Contrary to popular belief that graduate nurses are no longer in demand, a March 1999 report from the North Carolina Center of Nursing states that the shortage of nurses is raising concerns and that the state wants to begin recruiting more young people into the profession. "We’re concerned that there’s not enough young people in the pipeline . . . We just see the need," said Dennis Sherrod, associate director of the center.
" ‘Filling the need’ has been a Lenoir-Rhyne nursing program priority," said President Ryan LaHurd. "In fact, the program was created to fill a need right from its beginnings and continued after finding its home at L-R in 1961."
The program was initiated when Grayson Brothers, then chief administrator of Morganton’s Grace Hospital, saw the need for nursing education in a college setting. He negotiated an affiliation between the college and the Grace Hospital Training School, which resulted in the Lenoir-Rhyne/Grace Hospital Department of Nursing.
In 1961, Dr. Frances Farthing joined the L-R faculty as the department’s first chair with two specific goals: to develop a nursing program that would become a true baccalaureate degree, and to be nationally accredited. By 1964, L-R graduated its first class and, in April 1969, the program received accreditation by the National League for Nursing.
The program was the first school in Western North Carolina to receive accreditation, the fourth in the state to gain accreditation, and the first fully-accredited, church-related program.
Since that time, the nursing program has maintained continuous accreditation status through the National League for Nursing, and now the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. As a rule, more than 90 percent of graduates pass their national certification test on their first attempt.
"Our program is unique in that we start students at the sophomore level," said Dr. Linda Reece, professor of nursing and current nursing department chair. "Unlike other institutions, those students we accept as freshmen or sophomores do not have to re-apply for the nursing program their junior year (so long as academic grades and course requirements are met)."
In the Center for Nursing report, Sherrod also noted that statewide, hospitals are struggling to fill nursing jobs in critical-care units and specialized care fields. The problem is most noticeable among hospitals, he said, but home-care agencies will probably feel the pinch in the coming years.
L-R, says Reece, has recognized these problems and has developed programs to meet them. The curriculum, she explains, is based on the Caring Theoretical Perspective and teaching methodologies and student learning activities have been revised to reflect this perspective. Thus, graduates possess both critical thinking and hands-on skills and are prepared to practice clinical nursing, to pursue graduate study in nursing, and to continue education in emerging advanced practice fields.
Each year, 100 North Carolina nurses are selected in recognition of nursing excellence, nominated by nurses, physicians and patients. Congratulations to all the L-R nursing graduates who have been named to "The Great 100" in the last decade. If we’ve missed someone, please let us know. 1989 1990 1992 1994 1995 1997 1998 Note: In 1996, L-R Nursing Department Chair Dr. Linda Reece was named to this list. |
The result, of course, is that L-R’s nursing graduates have been active and continue to be active in every nursing category. They are directors of nursing at hospitals and county health departments. They serve as nursing department heads and as faculty at the community college, four-year college and university levels. Others have served or are serving as full-time medical missionaries in such places as the Philippines, South America and Africa.
L-R graduates have also become certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and clinical nurse specialists. And, they are found in non-nursing advanced practices such as physician assistants, attorneys, medical doctors, chiropractors and (to graduate in 1999), a dentist.
Over the years, L-R nursing students have been recognized for scholarship in Mu Sigma Epsilon, Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing department honors program, and Alpha Lambda Delta, as well as being listed in Who’s Who Among American College Students. Department faculty serve as officers and representatives for local and state professional organizations and they regularly present papers and research at local, state and national conferences. In 1996, Department Chair Reece was selected to receive the Great 100 Award for Nursing Excellence in North Carolina. Award recipients are nominated by peers and are selected based on their professional involvement, academic preparation, honors and awards, and their civic and church activities.
"As it has from the beginning, the nursing department is prepared to meet the needs of the nursing profession far into the next millennium," said LaHurd. "And, the construction of the McCrorie Center at the college will enable the nursing program and its graduates to remain at the cutting edge of the profession."
An integrated facility, the McCrorie Center will serve students and faculty in nursing, occupational therapy and sports medicine – programs that enroll nearly one-third of L-R traditional undergraduates. A number that is expected to increase upon completion of the facility, LaHurd said.