Monday, May 28, 2007
Excellence will continue to define nursing program
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Robert Sandel
Sandel is president of Virginia Western Community College.
For nearly 35 years, the nursing program at Virginia Western Community College has played a vital role in the region's health care network, producing nurses that we all depend on to keep our children, our parents and ourselves healthy. As president of the college, I write to clarify the issues raised in your May 15 editorial about the nursing program's accreditation ("Nursing students kept in the dark").
Virginia law requires that programs leading to the associate degree in nursing be approved by the Virginia State Board of Nursing and offered at a regionally accredited institution. Virginia Western's nursing program is approved by the State Board of Nursing, and the college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a recognized regional accrediting body of higher education.
Our nursing program has a well-earned reputation for excellence. For the past five years, graduates of Virginia Western's nursing program have achieved a 97 percent or higher pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination test (NCLEX). In fact, during each of those years, the college's pass rate has exceeded both statewide and national averages, which have ranged from 81 percent to 89 percent. A Carilion spokesman was quoted in the recent Roanoke Times editorial saying they hire our students because our graduates "become good nurses."
There is no requirement in Virginia for a nursing program to hold accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission: participation and membership in this organization are strictly voluntary and optional.
As the authority to approve nursing programs rests solely with the State Board of Nursing, NLNAC's "seal of approval" is but one measure of a nursing program's quality. The NLNAC endorsement does not impact our students' ability to receive federal and state financial aid or their eligibility to sit for the NCLEX licensure examination. And further, it has no impact on the ability of a graduate who successfully completes the NCLEX to apply for licensure as a registered nurse.
The NLNAC accreditation carries with it some benefits, such as professional development opportunities for our instructors, but our graduates are fully qualified and are competitive candidates for employment and transfer even without the designation.
Once licensed, graduates are eligible for employment in hospitals, long-term care facilities, private practices and with the Veterans Administration. Further, graduates from Virginia Western, as well as other Virginia Community College System nursing programs -- including those that are not NLNAC accredited -- have continued their nursing education at well-respected nursing programs at Old Domininion University, Radford, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Jefferson College of Health Sciences and others.
A lack of nursing instructors who hold master's degrees -- a shortage felt throughout the country -- was the primary reason the NLNAC denied continuing accreditation to our college. We immediately reapplied for the accreditation and were told in writing that Virginia Western Community College was "eligible to participate in the candidacy process." The same NLNAC letter goes on to say, "The receipt of your completed form and fee initiates the candidacy process." As a result, we legitimately believed that our nursing program was "in candidacy," which we published on our Web site.
We have since learned that there is another step -- a step Virginia Western Community College has yet to take -- before a program is considered to be a "candidate."
Though Virginia Western Community College has acted with nothing but good faith throughout this process, we have made two mistakes: One, we underestimated the reaction the NLNAC decision to not continue accreditation would generate among our students. And two, we believed that when the NLNAC "initiates the candidacy process," the program under review would, in fact, be a candidate and claimed it on our Web site.
We are learning from those missteps and are aiming to never repeat them.
Nevertheless, we assure our students that regardless of the college's NLNAC status, they will be prepared and eligible to sit for the state board's licensure exam, be well qualified for nursing employment and/or be eligible to transfer to another institution's nursing program.
I am proud of our graduates and our excellent faculty and staff, all of whom have worked together to build our respected program. Since the admission of its first class in 1972, Virginia Western's nursing program has played a vital role in meeting the nursing shortage in our community.
We will continue to meet that need by graduating well-prepared nurses who earn your trust as they tend to the health needs of the Roanoke Valley.
