Northland Community and Technical College streamlines nursing transfer program with Bemidji State University
Northland and Bemidji State University have recently streamlined a long-standing partnership that helps the former's RN graduates transfer to BSU to pursue further education. Koenig, who has witnessed the partnership through her years at Northland, said the upgrade will make the process easier for different student experiences.
"They just kind of improved the process to make it cater to all the different types of learners that have different types of life things that they're balancing," she said.
Operation LEAD (Learn to lead; Expand your knowledge; Advance your career; Discover new jobs) assists students who graduate as RNs to transfer to BSU's nursing program (Bachelor of Science in Nursing). The partnership also gives students the chance to start their bachelor's program before passing the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) entrance exam, has flexible start dates, eight-week classes and 100% online delivery as well as the ability to attend full-time or part-time.
Koenig said this means working students can balance work and school, and classes can be worked at one at a time. Operation LEAD will also award credits to those who pass their NCLEX.
The partnership has scholarship opportunities as well. There are 10 $1,000 transfer scholarships and 10 $2,500 Minnesota Workforce Development Scholarships available to Operation LEAD students.
Northland and BSU both have other partnerships with other institutions and clinical facilities, Koenig said, to combat the nursing shortage in northern Minnesota and other regions. There has been a shortage for a long time, she said, though some interest has picked back up in the profession after a peak of disinterest during COVID. Institutions have had to think differently, and now there is more collaboration than competition.
"We're just kind of getting creative, I think, in our education model to try and cater to the lifestyles of all the students, and that's kind of where these partnerships are key," Koenig said. "Years ago, when you thought of nursing, you thought of just a few places that a nurse might work. Now the field of nursing has expanded in so many different directions — you have your traditional long-term care facilities and clinics and hospitals, but you also have home care, hospice, jail, working for insurance companies, school nursing, travel nursing."
Outreach and health career fairs are also a way of trying to draw more interest to the profession. Northland's East Grand Forks campus will be holding a health career fair Wednesday, Feb. 19, and Thursday, Feb. 20, with 44 participants for students to see, more than in previous years, Koenig said.
Northland has been doing well for its RN program, she said. The school graduates about 70 RN students each May, and nationally, NCLEX pass rates for RNs at the associate's degree level are at an all-time high of 90.63%. Those who choose the mobility program, becoming LPNs (licensed practical nurses) before RNs, have a higher pass rate, according to the Minnesota Board of Nursing.
"We're very proud of our students and how hard they work and the accomplishments they achieve," Koenig said.
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