Surry Community College issued the following announcement on July 26.
Nursing graduates include (left to right) Front row: Diana Hernandez and Brandy Sawyer. Second row: Rosetta Hogan, Brianna Hiatt, April Vass, Abigail Worley and Katie Stanley. Third row: Melisha Mosley, Kayla Tuttle, Ashley Freeman, and Makayla Adams. Back row: Megan Edwards, Brooke Whittington, Emily Lynch, Celena Morrison, Cassidy Cook, and Billye Jo Goins.
Twenty-four Surry Community College students graduated from the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program, and 28 students graduated from the Licensed Practical Nursing to Associate Degree Nursing (LPN-ADN) program in 2020. Due to the pandemic, their graduation ceremony was held in July of this year.
Surry’s ADN curriculum provides students with opportunities to develop knowledge, skills, and strategies to integrate safety and quality into nursing care, to practice in a dynamic environment, and to assist individuals in making informed decisions that impact their health, quality of life, and achievement of potential.
The pinning and graduation ceremony was held July 1 on Surry’s Dobson campus. The guest speaker was 2020 graduate, Billye Jo Goins, RN, who spoke about the comradery among their group, and the compelling experiences they now share because they entered their nursing careers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Goins reflected on various topics and knowledge shared with their class by nursing faculty during their academic program that the students have found invaluable in their roles as registered nurses.
SCC President Dr. David Shockley welcomed the graduates followed by remarks from Dr. Yvonne Johnson, Associate Dean of Health Sciences at SCC. Dr. Douglas Underwood, PhD, MSN, RN, the Director of the Yadkin Center and the Director of Emergency Medical Programs, presented the pins. Dr. Shockley then performed the presentation of diplomas.
The Associate Degree Nursing graduates are Billye Jo Goins, Celena Morrison, Melisha Mosley, Jake Phillips, Kaitlyn Russell, Brandy Sawyer, Katie Stanley, and Emily Wilber of Mount Airy; Cassidy Cook of Jonesville; Makayla Adams of State Road; and Meaghan Edwards of East Bend. Sydney Gillespie of Lawsonville; Diana Hernandez and Emily Lynch of Pinnacle; Rosetta Hogan, Brooke Whittington, and Abigail Worley of Pilot Mountain; Christian Mayes and Madison Wright of Dobson; Katie Moncus of Yadkinville; Kayla Tuttle of Walnut Cove; Amy Wike of Statesville; Ashley Wright of Westfield; and April Vass of Hillsville, Va.
Savanna Powell of East Bend was a RIBN (Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses) graduate. She finished the first three years of her four years of education at SCC. In Fall 2020, Powell continued taking RIBN classes online with Lees McRae College, completing those classes in the spring of 2021 to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
The RIBN program is a collaboration between SCC and LMC providing nursing students with an affordable and accessible opportunity to attain a baccalaureate degree in nursing on the campus of SCC. Students are dually enrolled at SCC and LMC taking classes at both SCC and online at LMC during the first three years of the program. At the end of the third-year students take the licensure examination for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN) and are then eligible to work as and RN while completing their final year of nursing courses online with LMC.
The following graduates were already licensed as LPNs and earned the Associate Degree in Nursing: Kelly Barrett of Walkertown; Brittany Bowers of Hickory; Tywan Burney of Greensboro; Lorraine Burton and Anthony Word of Charlotte; Britteny Cleary of Hamptonville; Erica Cooke of Reidsville; Brenda Dillard of Jefferson; Jacquelyn Fulp, Christina Lester and Danielle Smith of Kernersville; Kristi Gowan-Fisher of Taylorsville; Jessica Hawks of Mount Airy; Samantha Hincher of Thurmond; Jourdan Pack Starling of Tobaccoville; Carrie Patrick of West Jefferson; Kayla Plumley and Janna Winstead of Mocksville; Bridget Riggins and Jennifer Cleary of Sparta; Kayla Wiles of Glade Valley; Anna Cromer of King, Tammi Gurley-Patterson of Dallas; Lindsay Kish of Statesville; Pamela Smith of Lexington; Ryan Songer of Elkin; Jessica South of North Wilkesboro; Kayla Sparks of Yadkinville; and Bridget Twilley of Sparta.
Surry Community College students can choose to complete the ADN, which is a two-year program, or currently licensed practical nurses (LPNs) can choose to complete the LPN-ADN program, which is a three-semester program. Graduates are eligible to apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). Employment opportunities are vast within the global health care system and may include positions within acute, chronic, extended, industrial, or community health care facilities. The average annual salary for a registered nurse is approximately $66,220.
For more information about the program, contact Associate Dean of Health Sciences Dr. Yvonne Johnson at (336) 386-3368 or johnsony@surry.edu. You can also follow the Nursing program on Facebook @surrynursing.
Original source can be found here.
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