Transcription:

Caitlin Whyte: If you've ever thought about going back to school for nursing, there's no better time than right now. Joining us to talk more about the St. Francis School of Nursing, Careers in Nursing and more is Sharnee Moore-Jervis, the Dean for St. Francis School of Nursing and Sidney Holmes, Student Affairs Coordinator for St. Francis School of Nursing. This is Word on Wellness, the podcast from St. Francis Medical Center. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. So I will start with you Sharnee. As you know, nursing is quite a complex and demanding field. So for people who are thinking about becoming a nurse, what should they know about getting into this line of work before even starting a program like this?

Sharnee Moore-Jervis: So a nursing program is serious business. It's serious work. It's very rewarding once you complete it, but you need to be prepared to be totally focused. I would recommend that during the program that you not work, or if you must minimally. It takes up a lot of your time. It is a definite sacrifice, but it's worth it. It's really worth it in the end, but it does require you to be totally focused. 150% to be available, I would say all seven days a week.

Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely. And Sidney, tell us about, you know, the reputation of the staff and faculty, and of course the graduates at St. Francis Medical Center School of Nursing? Why this school over any other options?

Sidney Holmes: Well, I can go with the experience that I have. Talking with the graduates because I get a lot of calls for transcript requests and all of that kind of thing, and what happens is I ask them about their experience with the school, and they all say very positive things about how much they enjoyed their time here at St. Francis. They talk about how it was such a small school, they got individualized attention, which I also get from the current students. They like that feedback. They tell me that the professors, they like the various personalities. Some of them are kind of loose, others are restrict. So it works very well for both sides of a person's personality, and they enjoy the small class size.

In terms of reputation, what I've heard is that St. Francis graduates have so much more clinical experience than other nursing schools, and that really plays out in how well they do in the hospital environment. So it's, I hear very good things about the faculty and the staff and the grads. They seem to really love it, and they refer people to St. Francis. So you can't argue with that.

Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely not. That hands on experience is so, so important. So I understand that the school of nursing at St. Francis is a two year program. So Sharnee, could you tell us about what happens during this time? What's the pacing and the curriculum like?

Sharnee Moore-Jervis: It's a two year program. It's fall, spring, summer, and then there's a short break and there's fall, and then there's spring again, and that is for our generic program. We also have a LPN to RN program, which is a 10 month program. Students have to take a prerequisite with us in the summer, and then it's a fall in the spring and then they're done. As you can see, these programs are really fast tracked. That's why they said the students need to come focused because it is a pretty fast track program.

Usually the students have to come Monday through Friday. If they don't have class that day, they may have an assignment that they have to do. Definitely requires lots of time preparation for the course, their lecture, prior to class after, and as well as clinical prior to and after. It's a pretty busy program, but they're well prepared upon graduation and for NCLEX.

Caitlin Whyte: Gotcha. So Sidney, let's talk about the logistics now. When should people apply? How can they apply? What are some deadlines and all of that stuff?

Sidney Holmes: Well, St. Francis has a rolling admission policy, which means we take applications all throughout the year. However, the classes actually begin, the semesters begin in the fall formally, with the exception of the LPN program, which has a summer class. So we take applications year round. The hard deadline is for the LPN program, the 28th of February, and for the generic program, it's the 31st of March. So I'm getting applications coming in right now, and what I encourage people to do is to send me their transcripts of their colleges so that we can evaluate them, let them know which classes that they need.

And guide them through the process such that when the application deadline comes, they have everything complete that they need. And especially important is T's exam. Which that seems to be the part that students are most nervous about is taking the T's exam. So I work with them, encourage them, give them study tips on how to pass the exam. Because it's really about learning how to take the exam as opposed to the questions themselves, and we guide them through, and so when the deadlines come, they'll be ready. Their application will be complete.

What they need for complete application, they need two copies of their high school transcript, three copies of their college transcript. We're talking about official copies here. Brief references, professional references. They cannot be family, friends and that kind of thing. They can be employers, teachers, your supervisor, someone like that. You've got to have a 2.5 GPA, a high school level chemistry class with a minimum grade of C within 10 years, and of course your high school diploma or your GED, and we assemble all of this material together, set you up for an I. And we go from there.

Caitlin Whyte: Beautiful. Well, wrapping up here Sharnee, you know, tuition is talked about so much these days. Are there any assistance programs for those seeking financial aide?

Sharnee Moore-Jervis: Yes. Our program is affiliated with Mercer County Community College, where the students also get an associate degree. Their financial aid can be done through Mercer County where students are eligible. We've been fortunate to have quite a few scholarships and we continuously, we just received. A new scholarship from former graduates, so there's quite a bit of financial aid that students are eligible for, and those that aren't eligible for financial aid, that can be eligible for student loans. But we also have scholarships, and it's not just academic, we offer academic and need scholarships as well. There's a well rounded financial package that the students can be eligible for.

Caitlin Whyte: Wonderful. Well, Sharnee, is there anything else you'd like to add about the application process or this program that we didn't touch on?

Sharnee Moore-Jervis: Well, all I would say is St. Francis is a great choice. It's a affordable choice. And great students graduate from there and become great nurses. So if you're looking for a small school setting to complete your nursing education, let St. Francis School of Nursing be your first choice.

Caitlin Whyte: Of course. And Sidney, same question for you. Anything you'd like to add?

Sidney Holmes: Well, St. Francis is a really good option, and I'll give you a personal reason why. I think is because our students graduated in May. And they have to take the NCLEX exam, and I started getting all of these phone calls within a month of graduation. Hey Mr. Holmes, I passed the nclex and they just started coming in and coming in and coming in and I'm thinking, wait a minute. You've only been out of school for a month, but apparently they get outta St. Francis and they know their stuff. And they're very confident and they take this exam and we have a 95% pass rate.

So you can't beat it. You get your nursing diploma with an associate degree at a very reasonable cost for the LPN program, it's one year for the RN program is two years. You got a fine education from an institution that has a very fine reputation. You can't beat it.

Well, thank you both so much for joining us. It really sounds like an incredible opportunity to just hit the ground running within the field. For more about applying, you can visit stfrancismedical.org and thanks for listening to Word On Wellness from St. Francis Medical Center. If you found this podcast to be helpful or you know someone interested in getting into nursing, please be sure to share this show and make sure to subscribe, rate and review this podcast. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Be well.