Nursing is by far one of the most “can do” professions. That same attitude applies to nursing students and nursing faculty, especially at Schoolcraft College.
Despite the many challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Schoolcraft College nursing students will graduate on time this May on Saturday, May 2.
“This enormous feat during the COVID-19 pandemic will be accomplished due to the rapid response by the nursing faculty to switch the course and clinical content to distance learning modalities,” said Dr. Debi Vendittelli, DNP*, ANP-BC**, and nursing program associate dean.
“The pandemic resulted in stay-at-home orders and lack of clinical sites for nursing students. Faculty developed innovative activities to provide clinical experiences that were still in alignment with Michigan Board of Nursing requirements.”
Resilient nursing students adapted to the new learning formats to continue their progress to graduation. Students will meet the clinical-hour requirements utilizing telehealth strategies with individuals of varying ages, virtual clinical simulations, and completion of other clinical assignments to meet course and program outcomes.
The 168 students in the May cohort are the largest registered nursing graduating class in the College’s history. The Governor’s allowance for temporary registered nursing licensure allows these graduates to start working as nurses while waiting to complete the NCLEX-RN*** exam. This quickly provides more nurses to the front line to provide healthcare to those in need.
“Kudos to all of the nursing students and faculty for their efforts to rise to the challenges during these trying times,” Dr. Vendittelli said.
Earlier this year, Schoolcraft College was recognized as a top nursing school in Michigan for 2019 by Nursing Schools Almanac, which has been ranking institutions since 2016. This is the first year the group has ranked nursing schools in Michigan. You can view that story here.
View more about the Nursing School at Schoolcraft College here.
*DNP stands for Doctor of Nursing Practice.
**ANP-BC stands for Adult Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified.
***NCLEX-RN stands for National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse.