Marta Zimon
Reporter

The nursing program at Milligan College has expanded in the last 12 months to 95 students in the program. This growth has called for more professors, extra courses offered and more requirements for the students.

Tammy Samples and Teresa Heaton are new associate professors in Milligan’s nursing program. Samples is teaching maternal child nursing and will teach pediatric nursing and fundamentals of nursing in the upcoming spring semester. Teresa Heaton is teaching medical surgical nursing and fundamentals of nursing. She will teach community health nursing next semester as well as health assessment.

“We are so happy to finally have a full complement of nursing faculty after three years of being two faculty members short,” said Melinda Collins, director of the nursing program. “The growth in enrollment within the area of nursing has been dramatic and continues to rise because of the recognition that Milligan has received with its program.”

Nine seniors, 29 juniors, 32 sophomores and 25 freshmen make up the nursing program. Junior Sara Keller said the entire nursing program is better this year since there are more professors in the program.

Steven Anliker, a junior nursing student, said, “Last year our professors were so stressed out, but the professors are so much more pleasant this year. I feel like the program is very hard, but at the same time all of the professors are here to help you.”

Collins said she is expecting great things to come out of having a full staff, including less stress for the professors and also more time for better one-on-one faculty-student contact.

“It is better when the nursing professors are only teaching one or two classes because the classes are so difficult students need extra time with professors alone,” Keller said. “I really feel a connection with my professors when they have more time for me.”

The nursing program at Milligan has achieved national recognition with awards and high rankings in national polls. The expected enrollment for next year is estimated to increase 20 percent.

“Milligan is the hardest place to be if you are a nursing student,” said junior Parker Creel. “The professors are very strict and very hard, but they make you the best nurse you can be…I feel like when I go out to get my job I will be well qualified because of the opportunities in learning I have had here at Milligan.”