Lipscomb University conducts ceremony honoring first nursing class, Jan. 27

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Lipscomb University hosted a Celebration Ceremony Friday to honor its first cohort group of 30 nursing students to begin clinical coursework at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing as part of the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership.

 

"This is an exciting day for Lipscomb and Vanderbilt," said Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry.  "It is an exciting day for Lipscomb because our students get the benefit of a world class clinical education at Vanderbilt and an exciting day for Vanderbilt as they have the opportunity to work with and teach some of our best students."

 

During the ceremony, nursing students were given stethoscopes from Lipscomb University, symbolizing their commitment to care for their patients' health while also caring about the patient as a person.

 

"The stethoscope ceremony is often used to initiate nursing students into their first clinical experiences," said Ben Hutchinson, dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences.  "Nursing students are required to have stethoscopes, and we decided to provide our students with new ones, not only to meet that need, but also to symbolize their goals as they go into their clinical coursework. 

 

"Often used to listen to one's heart, the stethoscope literally will remind students of their mission to care for the physical needs of patients while also reminding them of their greater purpose of listening and caring about the patient's life."

 

The Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Partnership is a unique program that began in Dec. 2003. Noticing a growing shortage of bachelor's degree nurses in the Nashville community, Lipscomb officials launched the nursing partnership as a way to help alleviate the nursing shortage.

 

"Statistics suggest that by 2008, Tennessee won't have enough nurses to fill available positions," said Hutchinson. "Nationwide, the shortage is predicted to grow to 400,000 by 2020. Shortages are already acute in underserved populations, particularly in Hispanic communities.

 

"The Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership uses the existing capacity of these two excellent institutions to create a significant new stream of bachelor's degree nurses that will enter the workforce as early as 2007 to help alleviate the predicted shortages."

 

Of the 30 students honored at the Celebration Ceremony, 27 have already signed contracts with Vanderbilt Hospital, ensuring work after they graduate. The others have plans to work closer to their hometowns, helping alleviate the nursing shortages in those areas.

 

Lipscomb has offered pre-nursing courses since 1949 when the university began offering pre-professional studies. The addition of the new nursing program came in Dec. 2003 when the Tennessee State Board of Nursing approved the partnership agreement between Lipscomb University and the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. This agreement allows Lipscomb to offer a bachelor of science in nursing degree with courses provided by Vanderbilt, according to Craig Bledsoe, Provost at Lipscomb.

 

Students in the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt program take their first five semesters of foundational nursing courses at Lipscomb. The remaining three semesters of professional nursing courses and clinical experiences will be offered at Vanderbilt. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive the bachelor of science in nursing from Lipscomb.

 

The second cohort group of approximately 40 will begin clinical coursework in January 2007, according to Bledsoe.

 

For more information on Lipscomb's BSN program, contact Bradley, at 615.279.6624 or through email at Elizabeth.Bradley [at] lipscomb.edu (Elizabeth[dot]Bradley[at]lipscomb[dot]edu).