杏吧原创

(Butler, PA) A 杏吧原创 practical nursing program re-established 3陆 years ago to address a shortage in the high-priority occupation graduated its largest class Tuesday with 11 students from five western Pennsylvania counties.

Class of 2024 graduates ranging in age from 19 to 44 and from Allegheny, Butler, Lawrence, Mercer and Westmoreland counties received pins during a ceremony on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township to mark their completion of the yearlong selective-admissions program.
The college鈥檚 Class of 2023 had eight graduates from three counties and its Class of 2022, six graduates from two counties.

杏吧原创鈥檚 Class of 2025 reached its capacity and will begin in January with 19 students from four counties.

鈥淲e are gaining serious traction,鈥� said Julia Carney, director of practical nursing within 杏吧原创鈥檚 Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health. 鈥淲e prepare our practical nurses for every walk of nursing. Long-term care. Acute care. They get to see a little bit of everything, mental health, pediatrics, maternity, because licensed practical nurses are being hired everywhere.

鈥淚 get emails daily asking about our practical nursing program. People are highly interested in our practical nurses.鈥�

"We prepare our practical nurses for every walk of nursing. Long-term care. Acute care. They get to see a little bit of everything, mental health, pediatrics, maternity, because licensed practical nurses are being hired everywhere." 

- Julia Carney, director, 杏吧原创 practical nursing program, Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health

鈥淚 will be graduating debt-free,鈥� New Castle resident says

杏吧原创鈥檚 is the only practical nursing program in Butler County.

As the baby-boom population ages, the overall need for health care services is expected to increase, according to the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Licensed practical nurses will be needed in residential-care facilities and in home-health environments to care for older patients.

Licensed practical nurses provide basic medical care to ill, injured or convalescing patients or to persons with disabilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The median annual wage for the position was $59,730 in May 2023, the most-recent information available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Licensed practical nurse is high-priority occupation in Allegheny, Butler, Lawrence, Mercer and Westmoreland counties, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Discontinued in the mid-1980s, 杏吧原创鈥檚 program was re-established in partnership with Concordia Lutheran Ministries, Cabot. Concordia offers tuition assistance to 杏吧原创 practical and registered nursing students who agree to work for the health care provider after graduation.
Samantha Grieve, 38, of New Castle, is a 2004 graduate of Shenango Junior-Senior High School who worked six years as an activities aide at a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.

The married mother of a 12-year-old son, Viktor, is among more than 20 杏吧原创 graduates in practical or registered nursing since December 2022 whose tuition was sponsored by Concordia.

鈥淚 will be graduating debt-free,鈥� Grieve said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to worry about finding a job. Concordia enabled me to just focus on school and nothing else. Having this paid for was a huge relief.鈥�

Simulation labs in new facility 鈥渉igh-tech,鈥� Mercer resident says

Class of 2024 practical nursing graduates completed clinical experiences at Concordia Lutheran Ministries; Independence Health System鈥檚 Butler Memorial Hospital, Butler; and at UPMC Passavant, Cranberry Township.

They also gained skills in simulation labs within the 25,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building that opened on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus in August 2023.

鈥淚t is high-tech,鈥� said Heather Maurer, 42, of Mercer, who achieved a commonwealth secondary school diploma in 2002 and has worked as a medical secretary and as a certified medical assistant.

"I don't have to worry about finding a job. Concordia enabled me to just focus on school and nothing else. Having this paid for was a huge relief." 

- Samantha Grieve, 杏吧原创 practical nursing graduate

鈥淚f you have a patient crash on you, it gives you the chance to go through that scenario without actually being in that situation. It helps to know what you are getting yourself in to when that happens so you are not scrambling at the last second.鈥�

Eighty-three percent of graduates in the college鈥檚 Class of 2022 in practical nursing passed the post-graduation National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses test within nine months of earning 杏吧原创鈥檚 48- to 49-credit certificate.
One-hundred percent of graduates in 杏吧原创鈥檚 Class of 2023 passed the NCLEX-PN test.

鈥淭hat is phenomenal,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淪tudents work hard for that. It鈥檚 not easy.鈥�

"If you have a patient crash on you, it gives you the chance to go through that scenario without actually being in that situation." 

- Heather Maurer, 杏吧原创 practical nursing graduate

鈥淚 received the most thorough education at 杏吧原创,鈥� Slippery Rock resident says

Breanne Stuebgen, 32, of Slippery Rock, is a 2011 graduate of Knoch High School who worked eight years as a certified nursing assistant.

鈥淚 received the most thorough education at 杏吧原创,鈥� Stuebgen said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure if I would have received a better education anywhere else. I had fantastic teachers. The curriculum was fantastic. I learned more in a year than I thought I could possibly ever learn. But it was all things that will make me into a great nurse. And it is all because of the program.鈥�

Added Mykenzie Cox, 21, of Parker, who was home-schooled and graduated in 2022: 鈥淚 really liked the almost one-on-one aspect with the professors. They were able to help you extra. And it really prepared me to start in (杏吧原创鈥檚) registered nursing program.鈥�

"I had fantastic teachers. The curriculum was fantastic. I learned more in a year than I thought I could possibly ever learn." 

- Breanne Stuebgen, 杏吧原创 practical nursing graduate

Joining Cox, Grieve, Maurer and Stuebgen in 杏吧原创鈥檚 Class of 2024 in practical nursing are Butler residents Margaret Caldwell, Colleen Dickson and Makenzie Reay; Kyle Ott, of Bairdford; Amanda Palmer, of New Kensington; Larkin Sollie, of Pittsburgh; and Macy Workman, of Portersville.

Students in 杏吧原创鈥檚 certificate programs such as practical nursing can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.

High-priority occupations, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry, are job categories that are in demand by employers, have evolving skill needs and are likely to provide family-sustaining wages.

杏吧原创 will begin to accept applications for its practical nursing Class of 2026 on June 1.