State Board of Nursing approves Advanced Standing Option program for LPNs
Aug. 22, 2008
Lebanon, PA – A new nursing program offered this fall at the Lebanon Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, provides an opportunity for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to earn status as a registered nurse (RN).
The Advanced Standing Option Program (ASOP), which is accredited by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing, offers healthcare professionals in the Lebanon community the chance to study for the State Board’s licensing examination for RN status. Classes will be held during the day Monday-Friday.
HACC partnered with community leaders, the Francis J. Dixon Foundation and Good Samaritan Hospital, to develop the program at the Lebanon Campus in response to a need for more RNs.
“I, along with HACC’s nursing administration and faculty, am pleased that we can now offer our nursing program to the community of Lebanon,” said Ron Rebuck, director of nursing at HACC. “Serving the local community is one of the goals of the college, and by educating more RNs we have the opportunity to fulfill this goal.”
Two years ago, Rebuck presented a feasibility study to the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing that demonstrated the need for the program and outlined clinical resource placement opportunities in the community. HACC would provide qualified staff to teach the students, Rebuck noted.
Frank Dixon, who suggested the collaboration between HACC and the Lebanon-based hospital, has been, and will continue to be, a supporter of this program by means of a grant to Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation of $1,000 for each new LPN to RN student, said Stephan Vegoe, executive director of the Dixon Foundation.
“Frank asked his board of directors to provide financial assistance to help GHS’s LPNS become RNS. Each year, Frank’s family foundation provides a grant to the GSH Foundation to help new nursing students get started on their path to an RN degree,” Vego said.
“The Lebanon Campus is fortunate to have clinical facilities right at our fingertips,” said Susan C. Corey, MN, RN, CS and coordinator of nursing at the campus. In addition to Good Samaritan Hospital, RN students will be working in various placements including Lebanon Veterans Administration Medical Center and other healthcare facilities in Lebanon County.
The clinical sites “provide our RN students with outstanding learning opportunities and prepare them for a successful licensing examination experience,” added Corey, who also is a program instructor.
Seven nursing students are already enrolled in the program and will be eligible to take the RN licensing exam in May 2009.
“Many students who already are taking required pre-clinical courses, such as English and psychology, at the HACC Lebanon Campus have expressed an interest in the class in 2009 or 2010,” said Corey, adding she “anticipates the program size could triple as area LPNs discover the program and the advantages of its proximity to where they live and work.”
The HACC Lebanon nursing class of 2009 will be instructed by Corey and Rebecca Blouch, adjunct professor.
For more information about the newly approved Nursing Program at HACC’s Lebanon Campus, contact Corey at 270-6329.
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