(Brockway, PA) A crowd of approximately 90 guests watched May 9 as BC3 @ Brockway recognized its largest class of graduates in a Nursing, R.N., career program that debuted in 2018 to address a high-priority occupation in the six-county North Central Workforce Development Area.
Sixteen graduates were recognized during the first nurses pinning ceremony at BC3 @ Brockway, Butler County Community College’s only additional location to offer the associate in applied science degree program in Nursing, R.N.
“At least 15 of the 16 already have jobs,” said Brittany Guadagno, a faculty member in BC3 @ Brockway’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health.
BC3’s Nursing, R.N., program, according to Dr. Nick Neupauer, college president, “best exemplifies our role as the community’s college, producing graduates in a high-priority occupation … and coming to our communities in their greatest time of need, during a global pandemic, by producing such excellent nurses to care for their loved ones.”
BC3 @ Brockway graduates completed the program during a COVID-19 pandemic in which they wore face masks or face shields and personal protective equipment, said Dr. Patty Annear, dean of the college’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health.
Graduates in BC3 @ Brockway’s Class of 2022 in Nursing, R.N., are, top row, from left, Shelby Barnacastle, Michelle Baron, Lakyn Geer, Lexie Glover and David Harris. Middle row, from left, Karli Ojeda, Alexis Ott, Amber Palaggo, Fernanda Ryen and Valerie Schneider. Bottom row, from left, Tara Siple, Stephanie Spinda, Sonya Van Cise, Noella Weaver and Teri Weyant. Not pictured, Miranda Stine.
“I got offered all three”
Registered nurse is a high-priority occupation in the North Central Workforce Development Area, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis. The North Central Workforce Development Area includes Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties.
A 9 percent increase in jobs is expected through 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We could pretty much pick where we wanted to go, and in what area or what specialty we wanted to start in.”
Michelle Baron, of Kersey, a graduate in BC3 @ Brockway’s Class of 2022 in Nursing, R.N., described the demand for registered nurses as being “high.”
“We could pretty much pick where we wanted to go,” Baron said, “and in what area or what specialty we wanted to start in.”
Baron applied for three positions.
“I got offered all three,” she said.
Stephanie Spinda, of DuBois, had “at least three or four” job offers and Fernanda Ryen, of DuBois, had a job offer before she began BC3 @ Brockway’s 70-credit associate in applied science degree career program, whose curriculum is identical to that on BC3’s main campus.
Ryen, a licensed practical nurse, said her employer learned she was about to pursue a degree in Nursing, R.N., from BC3 @ Brockway and offered her a position upon her graduation.
“That makes me feel good, to have an offer before I even graduated, before I even started,” Ryen said.
Ryen has accepted a position on the medical-surgery floor at Penn Highlands DuBois in Clearfield County. Baron, in the emergency department at Penn Highlands Elk in St. Marys, Elk County; and Spinda, in the intensive care unit at Penn Highlands DuBois.
Graduates in BC3 @ Brockway’s Class of 2022 in Nursing, R.N., reported they will or intend to work in critical care, emergency rooms, medical-surgery floors, operating rooms and in post-anesthesia care units. Graduates reported job offers that ranged in hourly rates of up to $29 and signing bonuses reaching $15,000.
Graduates “can certainly have their pick,” Annear said.
“We … develop the all-around nurse”
Thirty-five employers in the North Central Workforce Development Area posted job openings for registered nurses between January and April, to according to Emsi, an Idaho research company that conducts economic impact analyses for educational institutions.
BC3 @ Brockway’s Class of 2022 in Nursing, R.N., received clinical training at Penn Highlands DuBois, and completed preceptorships in the Penn Highlands Healthcare system and at Punxsutawney Area Hospital, Guadagno said.
“We have taken the time to truly develop the all-around nurse,” said Julia Carney, assistant dean of nursing in BC3’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health and master of ceremonies May 9 at BC3 @ Brockway’s nurses pinning ceremony.
“Not just skills-wise, but critical-thinking-wise. Evidence-based practice-wise. We have taken the steps and the measures to ensure that our nurses are fully capable of stepping into any job.”
To attain licensure, graduates of BC3’s Nursing, R.N., program take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. An average of 90 percent of BC3’s first-time NCLEX-RN test-takers in the past three years have been successful, Annear said.
BC3 @ Brockway’s Class of 2021 in Nursing, R.N. had nine graduates, and its Class of 2020, 12. Graduates were recognized during nurses pinning ceremonies on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township.
Applications for fall 2023 consideration in BC3 @ Brockway’s Nursing, R.N., program will be accepted beginning Aug. 1.
Students can also take pre-nursing courses at BC3 @ Brockway, where they can finish the career program in Nursing, R.N.
Students who take health care science courses at BC3 @ Brockway can also finish associate degrees in medical assistant; physical therapist assistant; or in technical trades-massage therapy management option on BC3’s main campus. They can also finish their certificates in massage therapy, medical assistant or in practical nursing on BC3’s main campus.
Graduates in BC3 @ Brockway’s Class of 2022 in Nursing, R.N., are Kersey residents Michelle Baron and Lakyn Geer; Brockway residents Lexie Glover and Karli Ojeda; DuBois residents Fernanda Ryen and Stephanie Spinda; and Punxsutawney residents Alexis Ott and Noella Weaver.
Also, Shelby Barnacastle, Brookville; David Harris, Clearfield; Amber Palaggo, Anita; Valerie Schneider, Johnsonburg; Tara Siple, Sykesville; Miranda Stine; Frenchville; Sonya Van Cise, Marble; and Teri Weyant, Reynoldsville.
