Jean Mistretta
The nursing program at Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta is growing stronger, thanks to leaders who understand the value of teamwork.
Georgia Perimeter, which grants more associate degrees than any institution in the Georgia University System, has had a nursing program since 1968. About 250 students are enrolled in its two tracks that lead to an associate degree in nursing. Graduates are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses.
"We've always had great outcomes, but since 2003, we've had a 100 percent pass rate for the NCLEX," said Jean Mistretta, Ph.D., RN, assistant vice president for health services. "Several years ago, we started forming partnerships with hospitals in our area, and that has greatly strengthened our program."
Partnerships formed with Emory Healthcare, DeKalb Medical Center, Grady Health System, Kaiser Permanente, Piedmont Hospital and others help fund about 80 nursing scholarships and some faculty positions each year at GPC.
A partnership with the Hospital Corporation of America brought funds to support a nursing tutorial lab and to increase the number of Hispanic nurses in the work force.
"Many of our students are first-generation college students and need some extra nurturing," Mistretta said. The nursing tutorial lab helps pre-nursing and special- population nursing students prepare for the rigors of the nursing program by teaching medical math, science and college survival skills.
Mistretta believes those partnerships were key in the college receiving a $1.5 million U.S. Department of Labor Community Partnership Grant to significantly advance nursing at the college.
"One of the strategic points in our grant was the need for greater career mobility in nursing," Mistretta said. Thanks to the grant and $100,000 in matching funds from the Hospital Corporation of America, the nursing program has revamped its LPN-RN bridge program.
About 45 hospital-employed licensed practical nurses will enroll in the one-year program this summer.
"We had an existing one-year LPN-RN bridge program, but it was a full-time, day program," Mistretta said. "Working nurses had to quit their jobs to complete their education, and quitting work isn't possible for many nurses."
The new, exible program will offer classes in the evening and on weekends, giving hospital employees an opportunity to advance careers. The grant is also making it possible for GPC to extend its LPN-RN bridge accelerated program to its Dunwoody campus and to provide training assistance and career counseling for students interested in health care careers.
"Our goal is to establish a seamless career ladder for nurses with multiple points of entry into the system," Mistretta said.
Mistretta and Alice Vautier, RN, Ed.D. and CNO of Emory Healthcare, have been traveling around the country to speak about the partnership and what it means for nurses and patients. Their collaboration won a Fortune 500 magazine Best Practice Award in 2004.
"Having strong partnerships is the only way to survive the nursing crisis," Mistretta said. "For years, practice and education didn't have anything to do with one another, but now, we're all about working together."