Pathway to Nursing program brings nursing to Ok-State

The Manhattan space is a “registered nurse desert” as a result of there isn’t any nursing faculty close by, mentioned Laura Sooby, assistant director of undergraduate packages at Wichita State College College of Nursing. It is a want that the Ok-State and Wichita State Pathway to Nursing program seeks to fill. 

This system was developed beneath Ok-State’s Faculty of Well being and Human Sciences and is a partnership with Wichita State College, Sherry Pogranichniy, dean of well being and human sciences mentioned. College students on this program will graduate with two majors, one from Ok-State and one from Wichita State, Pogranichniy mentioned.

“It’s a bit of completely different as a result of usually if somebody simply needs to do a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, they’re going to do two years of stipulations and two years of precise nursing courses and medical experiences,” Pogranichniy mentioned. “This program, they really must don’t solely the nursing stipulations, but additionally one other main and that’s going to be their Ok-State main. So the nursing isn’t a Ok-State main, Wichita State really provides the Bachelor of Science in Nursing or the BSN program.”

Pogranichniy mentioned this system normally takes at the very least a 12 months longer than conventional majors, however this depends upon the quantity of twin credit score college students carry into school and the Ok-State main they select.

College students within the Pathway to Nursing program sometimes spend their first three years on their Ok-State bachelor’s diploma, then spend their final two years in WSU’s nursing program. 

“We’re probably not ending the bachelor’s diploma in three years,” Pogranichniy mentioned. “We’re utilizing nursing courses to complete it. So the nursing courses will switch again to Kansas State as electives of their unique main that they began with and they might graduate with each levels on the similar time.”

Some Ok-State majors work higher than others along side this system, Pogranichniy mentioned.

“If a serious has loads of electives, it really works higher as a result of we will use extra nursing courses in that 120 credit that we normally must get a bachelor’s diploma at Ok-State,” Pogranichniy mentioned.  “If a serious has fewer electives … it has extra required programs. So it would take a full 4 years to complete the necessities after which two extra years to do nursing.”

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Pogranichniy mentioned majors that work nicely with the nursing program embody: well being and diet, human improvement and household sciences, integrative human sciences, kinesiology, life sciences, psychology, sociology and presumably anthropology. 

Sooby mentioned the double main program will assist college students of their future careers.

“It’s a really distinctive mannequin, and is particularly helpful for these rural communities or these individuals who will follow in them, as a result of it’ll provide the scholars an opportunity to have a separate specialty or a separate perspective {that a} single bachelor’s diploma wouldn’t provide them,” Sooby mentioned. “So they may have an accounting or kinesiology or dietetics background and that may assist inform their follow as an RN.”

The primary six college students started nursing courses within the fall 2022 semester and one other class of nurses have been admitted for the spring semester. 

Sooby mentioned though the school within the nursing program are WSU school and have yellow and black identify tags, they dwell in Manhattan. 

Pogranichniy mentioned one of many issues she likes about this system is it permits college students to remain at Ok-State for nursing faculty, as nursing college students will do medical or practicum in Manhattan and surrounding communities.

Audrey Mellick, freshman in public well being and pre-nursing, mentioned she is contemplating staying at Ok-State for nursing faculty.

“I simply completely love Ok-State and I wish to keep someplace that has a fantastic alternative,” Mellick mentioned.

Pogranichniy mentioned college students who’re fascinated with this system can electronic mail her straight at [email protected] to get data. Highschool college students who’ve chosen pre-nursing will routinely get an appointment with Pogranichniy in the event that they go to Ok-State.