NURSING SCHOOLS FILL COMMUNITY NEEDS

Lianna Chasteen, a student in the nursing program at Southeast Missouri State University, has been intrigued by the medical field since she was a little girl growing up in Florida.

"I find it fascinating and I decided to do it," she said. "Nursing seems compatible with my personality."

People like Chasteen who are interested in pursuing a career in nursing have two facilities in Cape Girardeau from which to choose. Southeast Missouri State University offers three programs, the Associate of Arts, the Bachelor of Science and the master's in nursing.

The Associate of Arts in nursing program, which was begun in 1959, currently has 75 students enrolled. It is a five-semester program that prepares graduates to administer nursing care in such areas as hospitals and nursing homes. The purpose of the associate degree is to prepare graduates with technical skills and nursing abilities for delivery of in-patient nursing care.

The Bachelor of Science in nursing, a four-year program, which began in 1973, has 211 students enrolled. With this degree, students receive more in-depth in nursing and support courses such as the social and biological sciences. Also, clinical experiences cover a broader scope of nursing practice.

The purpose of the master's program is to prepare advanced practicing nurses who can provide leadership and research and a more individualized level of nursing to the region the university serves. The first students were admitted in January 1993, and 23 are currently enrolled.

Both the associate and bachelor programs are accredited by the Missouri State Board of Nursing and the National League for Nursing. Graduates of these programs, after passing the national exam, are eligible for licensure as registered nurses in all 50 states and the U.S. territories.

"Our current class has about 20 per cent male students and several adult learners," said Gloria Green, interim chairwoman of the nursing programs."We are very pleased with that. We draw students from this area, St. Louis, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Northern Arkansas. We also have a couple of international students."

Chasteen said the students are committed. "Before I was admitted, there was a two-year waiting period. After you wait two years, you know what you want. We won't be deterred. We know there is a tough road ahead and no lame excuses will be accepted."

Also in Cape Girardeau is the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing, which was originally established in 1928 and then closed during the Depression. Plans to reopen the hospital-based professional nursing program began in 1990, and the first class was admitted in August 1991. The college is at Broadway and Sunset streets.

The main clinical facility utilized by the college of nursing is Southeast Missouri Hospital. There is a contract with Southeast Missouri State University for general support courses.

The free-standing, privately owned college of nursing offers an associate degree in nursing, structured as a one-year LPN to RN educational experience. The intent of the program is to build on the LPN's prior body of knowledge and experience by providing sound theoretical and clinical educational components in the courses of study. Upon successful completion of the 48-week program, a student is able to take the state board exam.

The program is accredited by the Missouri State Board of Nursing and accreditation by the National League for Nursing is being pursued.

"Our students have the option of graduating and going to work right away or pursuing a B.S.," said Sandy Buchheit, director of the college of nursing. "The advantage is that takes just one year on top of the LPN experience to accomplish.

"An entrance exam is given every year," she continued. "Up to 35 of the top-ranked applicants are accepted. We do have more qualified applicants than there are slots available. The numbers admitted into the program are determined by the State Board of Nursing. In order to open, we had to show need and community support. The state board looked very closely at quality faculty and availability of clinical practice sites."

LaRue McCallister, an RN at Southeast Hospital who graduated from the hospital college in 1993, had graduated from the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational Technical School in 1983 with an LPN degree and had worked in hospital settings and a doctor's office. "The school opened here and it allowed me to apply one year of education that I already had into one more year without starting over," she said. "I was able to work part time at the hospital and maintain an income while going to school."

Almost all of the participants in the program are non-traditional students, with the average being in the mid-30s age group and having at least one child.

These two training facilities for the field of nursing fill a definite need in the community. According to Karen Hendrickson, assistant administrator at Southeast Missouri Hospital, there is a shortage in advanced practicing nursing, critical care facilities and at the master's and doctoral level. "Based on a study done in 1993, there will continue to be a nursing shortage at certain levels in Missouri," she said.