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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (April 4, 2005) — To help meet the critical nursing shortage in our region, Milligan College has partnered with Northeast State Technical Community College on a transfer agreement that enables Northeast students to progress directly into the nursing major at Milligan College – more quickly and more affordably.
The Presidents of both institutions – Dr. Donald R. Jeanes of Milligan and Dr. William Locke of NSTCC – met Monday, April 4, to sign the official paperwork.
Northeast State students participating in the transfer agreement will complete 11 semester hours of pre-nursing coursework at the Milligan campus while completing their Associate of Science degree program at Northeast State. And all at Northeast State tuition rates.
“The articulation agreement helps eliminate an extra year of study that transfer students would typically have to do to complete the pre-nursing courses,” explained Melinda Collins, director of Milligan’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program and chair of the Area of Nursing. “The students will be guided by Northeast State, as well as receive academic advising from Milligan to ensure their transition is smooth.”
Students complete their first two years at Northeast State and then transfer to Milligan to complete their bachelor’s degree with a major in nursing. The program provides instruction in general education core courses and areas of anatomy, physiology, microbiology and chemistry.
Lana Hamilton, division chair of sciences at Northeast State, said there are currently 800 pre-nursing students at Northeast State and this new partnership with Milligan will help advance many more of them into the nursing profession.
In 2003, Hamilton said that approximately 50 students who completed their Associate of Science degree and transferred to a state institution to complete their B.S.N. found the nursing programs full. This often led to a one to two year delay before the student could graduate, complete the NCLEX-RN licensure exam and enter the workforce as a registered nurse.
“We want to make sure qualified students are not denied the opportunity to succeed because of lack of faculty, classroom space or teaching materials,” said Collins.
This is good news for local healthcare providers, who have noticed an increasing shortage in the availability of qualified and skilled nurses.
“There is a severe nursing shortage developing as the Baby Boomer generation becomes elderly and begins to consume large amounts of health care associated with an aging population,” said Dennis Vonderfecht, president and CEO of MSHA. “This staffing shortage is a major issue for all healthcare facilities, particularly for hospitals.”
MSHA Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Kathryn Wilhoit said the national shortage is having an impact here in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. She acknowledged that there are so many opportunities for nurses that the demand for such talents is outstripping the availability of potential employers.
To proactively meet this need, MSHA has provided Milligan a multi-year one million dollar grant to help the college’s B.S.N. program accommodate more students. MSHA also established a loan fund to provide financial assistance to deserving B.S.N. students from counties in the Tri-Cities region. If the student begins immediate full-time employment with a MSHA facility after graduation, then a portion of the loan is forgiven.
Collins said that other scholarship assistance is also available for Milligan’s B.S.N. program and the job opportunities are numerous.
“Local students who want to be a nurse now have incredible opportunities, thanks to these partnerships,” said Collins. “They have a high-quality nursing program that is being made available to them at a very affordable price. Plus, they are almost guaranteed a job after graduation.”
Milligan’s B.S.N. program and its graduates have built a reputation for success, achieving a near 100-percent pass rate on the national licensure exam for the past six years in a row and earning commendations from the Tennessee Board of Nursing. The practice-based program has a tradition of 100 percent of its graduates being employed upon graduation and 100 percent of those who have applied to graduate school have been accepted to the school of their choice, reported Collins.
“Milligan is very sensitive to our local area’s need for Registered Nurses and is committed to providing the highest quality of nursing education to as many students as possible who wish to serve others through the profession of nursing,” said Collins. “The transfer agreement with Northeast State is helping us do that.”
The transfer program is open to any NSTCC student pursuing an Associate of Science degree and planning to advance to a B.S.N. nursing program. In addition to talking with their advisor, interested NESTCC students may contact the Milligan College Admissions Office at 423.461.8730 or Area of Nursing at 423.461.8655 for more information.