Cape Girardeau school set to accept high school seniors in nursing program

With the expansion of its nursing curriculum, the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center will become the first school in Missouri to offer high school seniors early access to its practical nursing program.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for high school seniors to get started in the nursing field," said Rich Payne, director of the Career and Technology Center.

The program, scheduled to begin in August, will allow qualified seniors from high schools that send students to the center to enroll in the first year of a two-year practical nursing program. Each senior will receive three practical arts credits after completing the first year, and on graduation he or she can finish the remaining courses of the program the next year.

Payne stressed that the program would not be open to all high school seniors.

"We're looking for a highly engaged academic student for the program," he said.

Payne said no more than 15 seniors will be admitted each school year. They must be at least 17 years old and submit a complete application form and provide a copy of a valid Social Security card. Applicants must have a cumulative B grade average in all high school courses and have completed English I, II and III and also Algebra I and biology. Applicants must have no more than eight absences in a school year, have no more than three discipline referrals, and they must successfully complete the Test of Essential Academic Skills and participate in an interview process with an admissions committee.

Payne said offering the practical nursing program is another step in addressing the demands of employers.

"We like to be innovative," he said. "We are also responsive of the needs of employers in the area. To do that, we have to provide them with quality students."

As the population in the region ages, the demand for nurses grows, Payne said. With the nursing population aging, there is a demand for nursing students.

"There's a definite need to keep the pipeline of nurses full," he said. "At the center, we're contributing to the supply of qualified nurses. In the last five years, we've had 100 percent pass rates for students who take their Licensed Practical Nurse boards. A majority of our students become registered nurses."

The high schools that send students to the Career and Technology Center will pay the tuition for their seniors who qualify for the practical nursing program, about $2,150 per year. Payne said tuition offsets will be made available through a grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development administered by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, a former nurse and former chairwoman of the Coordinating Board of Higher Education, approves of steps taken by the Career and Technology Center,

"One of the things we need to be doing is to get high school students workplace-ready," Swan said. "To do that, we have to think more creatively as to how we're going to deliver education. What the Career and Technology Center is doing is an example for other communities to follow."

The Missouri State Board of Nursing granted preliminary approval for the expansion of the practical nursing program at the Career and Technology Center on March 5. Chris Cline, spokesman for the board of nursing, said in an email that full approval of the expansion is contingent on a successful site survey to be conducted in July.

For more information about the practical nursing program or how to apply for the program, contact the Career and Technology Center at 334-0826 or visit capectc.org.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent addresses:

1080 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO