Penn State Lehigh Valley has received approval from the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing for a new practical-nursing program and will begin offering classes in the spring.
This practical-nursing curriculum is an 18-month, noncredit program with courses offered on evenings and weekends through the Office of Continuing Education. Students enrolled in the program may be taking classes and attending clinical studies at the Penn State Lehigh Valley Corporate Learning Center in Bethlehem, St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem and Phoebe Ministries in Allentown.
"The challenges of providing support for education and development in allied health careers and specifically nursing is a great opportunity for Penn State in the Lehigh Valley to help address the nursing shortage," explained Kenneth McGeary, regional director of Continuing Education and Outreach at Penn State Lehigh Valley. "Offering a part-time, evening and weekend practical-nursing program will enable Penn State Lehigh Valley to serve and support work-force development, but even more importantly, it will ensure that our citizens and neighbors who are in need of quality nursing care will receive it, when and where they need it."
The nursing program is designed to provide students with knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgment to provide effective nursing care under the direction of a licensed professional health-team member. Students who complete this program will meet the requirements to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses. In addition, they'll be able to sit for the Challenge Exams for Nursing I and Nursing II at St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing and the Reading Hospital School of Nursing, which can start them on their way to becoming registered nurses.
The program consists of four levels of instruction focusing on "Structure and Function of the Human Body," "Fundamentals of Practical Nursing," "Concepts of Basic Medical-Surgical Nursing Care," "Nursing Care of Adults and Children" and "Nursing Care of the Adult." The total cost for the program is $12,000 which covers the entire 18 months of classes, all materials, supplies and uniforms.
The spring class has a limited enrollment of 24 students. In addition to completing an admission application, individuals must meet a number of requirements to be accepted into the program, which includes being a graduate of an accredited high school or Pennsylvania GED equivalent with a grade point average of 2.0 or better; satisfactory performance on the pre-entrance assessment exam (NET); a number of personnel clearances; and a satisfactory interview with the program coordinator.
Gary Guldin has been named as the program coordinator for the practical-nursing program. Guldin has an extensive background in the health-care industry. Formerly an instructor in health occupations at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute in Schnecksville, he has worked as a nursing supervisor, director of special-care units, and an assistant head nurse -- both in the general intensive care and special-care units. Guldin holds a master's degree in education from Temple University and a bachelor of science in nursing from Penn State.
For additional information and applications for the practical nursing program, call (610) 285-5066.