career connection
nursing
Go I.V. League
Davey Long knew from the start he wanted to
pursue a career in healthcare. He explained, “It
may sound cheesy, but I grew up watching Batman
and Superman cartoons, and always wanted to
help people because of the characters I looked up
to as a child.” He turned those dreams into a reality
after graduating from Bevill State Community
College’s nursing program and becoming a
trauma nurse at UAB Hospital.
Most people think the only way to become a nurse is by gradu-
ating from a program at a four-year university—Davey is proof
that isn’t the case. He emphasized the more personal, one-on-
one environment he found at Bevill State, and added,“I liked
the smaller environment because you got to know not only your
instructors, but also all of your classmates. I enjoyed that some
of my instructors were actually clinical instructors. They were
able to add another dynamic to the learning process.”
A typical RN program at a community college spans five
semesters, and the LPN program lasts for three. The curricu-
lum incorporates general education courses along with nursing
courses, and includes classroom instruction with guided clinical
experiences. LPN graduates are prepared to fulfill positions as
staff nurses, and may be employed in a variety of settings such
as hospitals, clinics, or physicians’ offices. Graduates also have
the opportunity to become Registered Nurses after successful
passage of the NCLEX-RN exam.
Admission to nursing
programs is a highly
competitive process.
Available space at clinical
sites and student-teacher
ratios required by the
Alabama Board of
Nursing limit the
number of applicants
Top 5 Nursing Programs
accepted each year.
2. Coastal Alabama Community College
3. Snead State Community College
4. Calhoun Community College
5. Wallace State Community College
the next five years, the
state of Alabama will
need more than 9,000
nurses (RN and LPN)
According to the Alabama Board of Nursing,
the Top 5 Nursing Programs in the state (based
on NCLEX exam performance) are within the
Alabama Community College System:
1. Lawson State Community College
It is projected that in
to meet the state’s
healthcare needs.
Davey believes someone interested in becoming a nurse “must
be kind, caring, and compassionate.” He added, “In my year of
being a nurse, I’ve learned that not all love is soft and mushy—
sometimes it’s stern. Giving tough love to patients is sometimes
the best thing a nurse can do.” He finished with this statement:
“Do not be intimidated when meeting Bachelor of Nursing stu-
dents or colleagues who have their bachelor’s degree. Our skill
in nursing is not based solely on a degree. It’s based on what we
have learned through experiences in the field we chose.”
Source: www.accs.edu
www.potentialmagazine.com
Winter 2018 |
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