(Butler, PA) Prospective Butler County Community College students interested in a nursing career and in a tuition assistance program that provides a secure position after graduation can learn more during information sessions to be held on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township or at Concordia Lutheran Ministries through Sept. 27.
BC3 offers a 70-credit associate in applied science degree program in Nursing, R.N., and a 48-credit certificate program in practical nursing that debuted in January as a result of a partnership with Concordia Lutheran Ministries that is intended to address a shortage in nursing.
Registered nurse and licensed practical nurse are high-priority occupations in western Pennsylvania; Nursing, R.N., and practical nursing are selective-admissions programs at BC3.
Information sessions about nursing programs will be held on BC3’s main campus from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. July 7 and Sept. 9; from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. July 21; from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 5; and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 15 and Sept. 27.
Prospective students can RSVP to attend an information session on BC3’s main campus at bc3.edu/healthcare.
Information sessions for BC3’s nursing programs will also be held from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. July 19 at Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Cabot and Aug. 10 at Concordia’s Good Samaritan Hospice offices in Valencia.
Prospective students can RSVP to attend an information session at Concordia Lutheran Ministries by calling Andria Rhodes at (724) 352-1571 Ext. 8372 or by emailing bc3nursingprogram@concordialm.org.
Concordia Lutheran Ministries “really walks the walk. While many people are out there recruiting and trying to do this, that and everything else, they have never put forth the financial effort that Concordia has to make things happen.”
Applications are being accepted now through Aug. 31 for prospective students seeking to apply for a January 2023 start in practical nursing.
Applications will be accepted Aug. 1 through Oct. 31 for prospective students seeking to apply for an August 2023 start in Nursing, R.N.
Opportunities for nursing students
Concordia Lutheran Ministries’ tuition assistance program allows BC3 registered nursing and practical nursing students to complete their programs tuition-free.
BC3 nursing students who receive one year of tuition sponsorship from Concordia will be committed to work for the health care provider for two years. Those who receive two years of tuition sponsorship will be committed to work for Concordia for three years.
“The opportunity is there for students to be able to get a free nursing education and have a job waiting for them,” said Dr. Patty Annear, dean of BC3’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health. Concordia, she said, “really walks the walk. While many people are out there recruiting and trying to do this, that and everything else, they have never put forth the financial effort that Concordia has to make things happen.”
The Cabot-based health care provider has over the years hired more than 150 graduates of BC3’s registered nursing program, Keith Frndak, president and CEO of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, said during BC3’s pinning ceremony for registered nursing graduates May 12.
Concordia Lutheran Ministries has 13 facility-based locations in Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties; and in Summit County, Ohio, and in Hillsborough County, Fla. It also serves thousands of people in their own homes in 10 western Pennsylvania counties through its various home and community service organizations.
Prospective students attending an information session can also learn about BC3, the application requirements for each program and the program’s outcomes, Annear said.
To attain licensure, graduates of BC3’s registered nursing 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.
The college in December will graduate its first class from its new yearlong program in practical nursing.
BC3 practical nursing students who pass the post-graduation National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses could also enter BC3’s Nursing, R.N., program as second-year students.
9% increases in jobs expected
Registered nurse, and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse, are high-priority occupations in the Tri-County Workforce Development Area, which includes Armstrong and Butler counties; and in the West Central Workforce Development Area, which includes Lawrence and Mercer counties, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information and Analysis.
The number of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses is expected to grow by 9 percent through 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Retirement risk for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses in western Pennsylvania is high, according to Emsi. The Idaho research company that conducts economic impact analyses for educational institutions reports that 1,042 registered nurses and 260 licensed practical nurses in Armstrong, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties are at least 55 years old.
BC3’s selective-admissions health care programs also include medical assistant, physical therapist assistant and massage therapy.
Applications for an August start in BC3’s associate in applied science degree programs in medical assistant, physical therapist assistant and in technical trades-massage therapy management, and for certificate programs in massage therapy and medical assistant, are now being accepted. For more information, visit bc3.edu/healthcare.
