Rhodes State College President Cynthia Spiers announces the new RN to BSN program Tuesday at Rhodes State’s Borra Center for Health Sciences in downtown Lima.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
LIMA — It is no secret in the healthcare industry that nursing shortages are a growing concern, especially in critical care areas. Rhodes State College made an announcement Tuesday that administrators hope will help alleviate that concern.
The college announced that it will be offering its first bachelor’s degree when it begins its RN to BSN (registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing) program this fall. While the college’s partnerships with Bluffton University and Defiance College are designed more for students with no previous nursing education to obtain an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree in nursing, this program is designed for working registered nurses who have already obtained associate’s degrees, allowing them to complete studies for a bachelor’s degree while still in the workforce. During the announcement at the college’s Borra Center for Health Sciences downtown facility, Rhodes State President Cynthia Spiers related how healthcare facilities throughout the 10 counties in our region have all told the college the same thing when it comes to their nursing needs.
“Of course, they wanted us to continue the associate degree in nursing program,” she said, “but they needed to increase the number of nurses with a baccalaureate degree and they needed an increased emphasis on critical care within the curriculum.”
This baccalaureate program is designed to meet that gap by offering three pathways of concentration: critical care, case management and nursing leadership. While critical care focuses on immediate care of the patient in a healthcare facility, case management focuses on the logistics of providing care for the patient in a variety of settings, from hospitals to rehab facilities to their own home. Nursing leadership trains the nurse for roles such as a nursing supervisor or a director of nursing.
One of only six community colleges in Ohio to offer this program, Rhodes State will deliver its program entirely online with the exception of two days of intensive training at the Borra Center’s simulation labs. Each class would last eight weeks, along with an opportunity for a practicum in the field, potentially even at the student’s workplace.
“We’re keeping in mind that these are registered nurses already working different shifts,” Melissa Harvey, Rhodes State chair of nursing services, said. “They may be working 12-hour shifts. They may be night shifters and want to study at 2 a.m. We wanted to build this program so that we could be able to offer it in that flexible modality.”
To help get the program off the ground, Rhodes State has hired two additional instructors, and the college already uses Canvas, an online learning management system that will be used in this program.
Since opening the application process on April 2, the college has already had 41 applicants to its 30 openings, and the college will be accepting up to 30 students annually in the first three years of the program. For more information, contact Harvey at 419-995-8347 or at [email protected].
