By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Over the last year, Barton Community College has worked to create a
partnership with Pratt Community College to provide RN (Registered Nurse) nursing curriculum to
Pratt students.
Pratt students would take the first year of LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse)
courses in Pratt and potentially finish the associate’s degree, or two-year RN
program, through Barton. The inaugural RN class between the colleges will begin
this August.
This past spring, Pratt had a faculty resignation and the director of nursing
had health problems. The Pratt college made the decision to suspend their
nursing program.
Barton Director of Nursing Ranae Skelton said rather than pull
the plug completely on their nursing program, Pratt reached out to Barton to
provide both the LPN and RN coursework to nursing students in Pratt.
"Our nursing program is a one-plus-one," said Skelton. "Everybody comes in at the LPN level. Once they complete the LPN level, they can apply to the RN year, or the second year, associate degree year. We went through this once to do the associate degree program in Pratt. Now they've asked us to do the LPN also."
Skelton said the Great Bend campus can provide the LPN coursework to 55
students and the satellite program in Pratt will potentially add an additional 30.
"The format would be similar to what we're doing with the associate degree program," said Skelton. "There would be synchronized Zoom classes for delivery. There will be instructors down there. We plan to do clinicals like we do with our LPNs here in Great Bend."
Barton and Pratt still need approval from the Kansas State Board of Nursing. If
approved, the LPN partnership would begin in the fall of 2023.