It’s Friday, so how about we feature a fantastic faculty member? Meet Ron Enos, Simulation Lab Coordinator! Ron has been at UACCM since October 2018. In case you haven’t had to opportunity to visit UACCM’s nursing facilities, the simulation lab, or sim lab, is a realistic simulation of a healthcare facility, complete with programmable mannikins and a medication dispensing machine. A student demonstrates nursing skills on a model in the simulation lab. Ron thinks students should choose UACCM because each student is important here. His favorite part of his job is recreating an immersive healthcare setting and seeing confidence and growth of nursing students because of it. When not at UACCM, Ron enjoys running, guitar, and painting. He had this advice for UACCM students: “It's not how smart you are but the time you put into study that delivers the grade.”

The Registered Nursing program at University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton is making big steps towards improving and growing. Beginning in January 2023, Registered Nursing will transition from consortium membership to an in-house program taught exclusively by UACCM faculty.  The program has the prerequisite and initial approval of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (ASBN), and will receive full approval and licensure from ASBN before the 2023 class graduates.  “UACCM has grown and is now ready to offer its own RN program,” said Darrell Moore, Dean of Health Professions and Natural Sciences. “UACCM sees this program offering as an opportunity to better serve our students as one in a group of up to 48 UACCM students, rather than one of 300-plus in the consortium.” This transformation will have several benefits for incoming RN students. Having local, UACCM faculty will allow students to have face-to-face instruction and more interaction with educators, as opposed to...

Graduates of the nursing programs at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton passed a national nursing exam at nearly perfect rates. It’s the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)—the standardized test all nursing graduates must take before they can start working as a professional nurse. The high scores are made up of graduates in the licensed practical nursing (LPN) and registered nursing (RN) programs, far exceeding the national and state averages. In the 2019 UACCM class, 95.9 percent of LPN graduates and 97.4 percent of RN graduates passed the NCLEX. The 2019 class joins an established trend of UACCM students passing at a high rate—if not a perfect one—over several years. For the nursing program, the NCLEX is critical. NCLEX scores are a gauge of how prepared nurses are to enter the workforce, and passage rates are one of the calibers by which nursing schools are judged. Among graduates, the college’s high passage rate means better job placement o...

The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton Workforce Development and Community Education department will offer a Nursing Assistant class beginning Jan. 7, 2019 continuing through Feb. 5, 2019. The class will meet on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Kirk Building Room 113. The cost of the class is $450. Students will be prepared to provide competent, skilled nursing care in a compassionate manner to residents of long-term care, hospice, and hospital facilities. Upon successful completion of this course, including 90 hours of training, with a grade of “C” or higher, students will be qualified to take the state competency exam. With successful passage of the exam, students will be eligible to become certified nursing assistants.  According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of nursing assistants is projected to grow 11 percent in the next decade, faster than the average for al...

Participants experienced the delivery of a simulated child. UACCM hosted a special "Learn, Preview, Nursing" day on July 25 to showcase the offerings of its licensed practical nursing program. Due to the high-demand of the program and with the fall semester quickly approaching, UACCM hosted the free event for anyone in the area who may be interested in the LPN program.  The day started with a presentation explaining what to expect as a nursing student featuring nursing department faculty and admissions staff.  Attendees were given a tour of the UACCM campus, an overview of the free services available to students, and assistance in completing financial aid forms. The three-hour preview also included a special session in working with high-fidelity mannequins from the nursing department's simulation lab.  This session featured the simulated birth of a child with hands-on opportunities for participants to examine the mannequins and work w...

The Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium has announced the recent approval from the State Board of Nursing to increase acceptance for 16 additional students and with current applications, they plan to accept 26 additional students, program-wide. This larger class will begin January 2014. “ARNEC has already exceeded the number of applications from last year, so we feel it is vital to increase student acceptance in 2014,” said Crystal Gillihan, ARNEC Director. “Our students are very successful. They are employed quickly after graduation in both acute care and long-term care settings. Many of our students chose to further their education and are gaining acceptance into BSN programs. ARNEC is a vital piece to rural education and rural health care in Arkansas.” The program is fully approved by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing, and the eight colleges that comprise the consortium have graduated approximately 225 students each year from the program, prior to the increase. ...