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NEWS
Accelerated Program Helps
Students Dreams Come True
 Kathleen
Tucker always wanted to be a registered nurse. When she finally
was able to apply at the age of 30, she found out it would be
a year before she might get into the license practical nursing
program.
She put her dream on hold and went
to work in a tobacco field near her home in Graves County. One
afternoon, she got a call from the school saying there was an
opening a week after the semester started.
Tucker never went back to that tobacco field.
 Today,
the Murray Calloway County Hospital nurse is on her way to securing
her registered nursing qualifications thanks to the West Kentucky
Community and Technical College Accelerated licensed pratical
nursing (LPN) to registered nurse (RN) program.
“The bridge program was the inspiration for me,”
Tucker said.
WKCTC offers three career programs in nursing: a 75-hour nurse
aide testing and training course; an 18-month practical nursing
diploma; and a two-year associate in applied science degree.
New "pathways," such as Accelerated LPN to RN, will
help students rise through the health career ranks more smoothly,
said Dr. Tena Payne, who directs the college's nursing division.
"We want to recognize people who have previous education
and have worked in the allied health fields," she said.
"We want to get more people into the (employment) pipeline
and eventually get more people out there with bachelor's and
master's degrees and doctorates in nursing."
 Registered
nurses must earn an associate or bachelor's degree in nursing
and pass a qualifying exam. They are allowed to provide more
care and make more decisions concerning patients, Dr. Payne
said.
 Sheila
Adams of Mayfield graduated with Tucker in the LPN program in
1992 and also works at Murray-Calloway County Hospital. She
said money was one of her reasons for seeking the degree.
"If you can get more knowledge, you can make more money,”
she said. “And there are more opportunities for you."
The accelerated program allows pre-screened licensed practical
nurses to earn registered nursing qualifications in a year by
allowing them to prove basic skills through an Internet-based
"bridge" course and immediately enter what is typically
the third and fourth semester for RN students. The program graduated
five students in May and has 17 scheduled for this fall.
Tucker and Adams will graduate in spring 2005. Murray-Calloway
County Hospital will pay for the pair's tuition and books until
graduation, although Adams said the practice has been discontinued.
In exchange, they must work at the hospital one year for each
year of education it provided.
Starting in spring 2005, the college's part-time LPN program
will allow students to earn their licensed practical nursing
certification over the course of five semesters. The program
is open to any advanced nursing assistant or health professional,
such as a surgical technician or respiratory therapist, and
can accept 30 students.
"We have a lot of people who are interested in taking the
classes, but they can't quit their jobs because they need medical
insurance or the money," Dr. Payne said. "It takes
a little longer to complete because they attend classes two
days a week and continue working."
Western Kentucky is not suffering from the national decline
in available nurses because of preventive measures taken in
2002, Dr. Payne said, when the Lourdes Foundation and Western
Baptist Hospital agreed to pay $140,000 annually through Paducah
Junior College Inc. for three nursing faculty salaries. The
staffing has allowed the college to double its nursing graduates
to 90 by 2004-05.
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