September 16, 2020 /Sara Doan, Northeast Arkansas News
PARAGOULD, Ark-听BRTC is partnering with Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould to create an instructional site for nursing students.
听This will allow some students to stay closer to home and receive their nursing education in a hospital setting.
听鈥淲e love to be able to partner with a hospital and area people who have been doing this all their life,鈥� says Executive Director of BRTC Paragould Priscilla Stillwell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a hometown school and a hometown hospital. It鈥檚 a great fit.鈥�
听We first told you about this partnership last winter.
听The new instructional site for the traditional registered nursing program official opened on September 1st.
听The new site will give potential students an option to complete their coursework at the Pocahontas campus or at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center.
听Students at AMMC can also complete their clinical rotations there too.
听One student says it was a perfect fit for her.
听鈥淚 have lived and worked in this community for my entire life,鈥� says BRTC, AMMC campus nursing student Renee Rosten. 鈥淲henever I heard there being a program locally, it drove me to want to go to nursing school even more with it being close to home.鈥�
听While being in the hospital will give students a unique opportunity.
听Video conferencing and in class lectures will take place.
听They did have to make adjustments due to COVID-19.
听Students are broken up into small groups.
听They\’re also limiting close contact time and no linens on hospital beds in their stimulation labs.
听AMMC鈥檚 Director of Marketing, Tori Thompson says it鈥檚 not only a wonderful opportunity for BRTC, but also AMMC.听
听鈥淲e like to have quality nurses and, we are working with BRTC which produces an outstanding nursing program,鈥� says Thompson. 鈥淗aving them here and in our facilities is a step ahead for our nursing program here at AMMC.鈥�
听So far, 12 students did enroll in the program on the AMMC campus, with hopes to expand to allow 24 students and even more into the future.