Nursing classrooms in southern Oklahoma are filled to capacity.
The Southern Oklahoma Technology Center, East Central University and Murray State College each offer nursing programs.
“We have always had a large interest in our allied health programs. Programs stay filled and twice as many apply as we have spots for,” said MSC Director of Operations at Ardmore Higher Education Center Lynette Kirk.
MSC allows students to take their general education and basic science classes at the Ardmore Higher Education Center and take nursing classes at the main campus in Tishomingo.
ECU, which offers the only baccalaureate registered nursing program in southeastern Oklahoma, had 32 students apply for the 17 available spots at the Ardmore site.
In order to be the leader, the supervisor, they (nurses) need more than an associate. A baccalaureate can get a masters. In rural areas, you have to have someone who can do independent practice, said Dr. Peggy Hart Miller.
The ECU program, which is a part of the Ardmore Higher Education Center, opened last year with 10 students accepted.
Next year, the goal is to enroll 24 students and sustain that number, bringing the overall total to the school’s capacity of 72 students.
It is currently funded through grants from Mercy Memorial Hospital and Health Resources and Service Administration.
However, the grants will run out in the next three to four years, after which the school will depend on the state funding that they will receive through ECU.
The program accepts students during their sophomore year; therefore there are three classes at any one time.
There are scheduled classes that the students attend that are either taught by faculty at the Ardmore site or by lecturers in Ada by way of the interactive television system.
The interactive television system links the instructor and students over the web. They are able to see and talk with one another in real time.
The Southern Oklahoma Technology Center offers a more flexible schedule for its practical nursing program.
Students can enter with any level of prior knowledge and have the freedom to plan their own schedule, as long as they reach certain weekly hour requirements.
SOTC practical nursing student Melinda Ritter has been a nurse’s aide for six years.
“I’m ready to advance and further my education to better support my family. This program is ideal because I can come out while working full-time. It’s like having my cake and eating it too,” she said.
