NWACC sends nursing graduates to eager employers
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
ROGERS - Scrubs. White on top. Green on bottom. The gown of sorts for the 35 graduates of Northwest Arkansas Community College's nursing program.
As the 35 marched one-by-one down the aisle at the Church at Pinnacle Hills, each proudly wearing their graduation scrubs, they appeared ready to leap immediately into the work force.
That may not be far from the truth.
"There is a severe shortage of nurses across the country," NWACC President Dr. Becky Paneitz said.
That shortage was reflected in the employment status of these graduates. Nearly all had already been hired to practice nursing, and the rumor circulating through the auditorium was recruiters were in attendance waiting to snatch up the rest.
Dr. Monte Gagliardi, NWACC dean of health professions, noted the tremendous turnover among the nursing profession.
Gagliardi spoke directly to the graduates, using highly specific, technical language that could only be understood by one who survived the program, although the odd parent or spouse may have learned one or two of those words while serving as cheerleader and onlooker.
But Gagliardi did not overlook the difficulties facing these new nurses. His list was long and detailed. It included issues like the lack of universal health care, the pressures stemming from the insurance industry, constantly changing technology, an ever-increasing number of medicines, and innovations in treatment options.
NWACC Board of Trustees Chairman Coleman Peterson was the first to encourage the graduates to incorporate religion in the practice of their trade.
"It's so appropriate to have this ceremony in a church, where we spend time ministering to the spirit, as we recognize these nurses, who will minister to the body," he said.
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