New alumna Janice Goodson has big plans.
She wants to take flight lessons and prepare for her daughter’s wedding.
But someday, she wants to be an adjunct professor for Santa Fe College’s newly accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing Completion Program.
Goodson is one of the 19 members of the program’s first graduating class.
SFC decided to initiate a four-year bachelor’s program in nursing to increase access to higher education for entry-level, associate degree-prepared nurses.
This flexible, mostly online program is designed for working nurses, said Lois Ellis, director of Nursing Programs at SFC.
“My new degree has increased my ability to apply for different positions,” said Goodson, who currently works at UF Health Shands Hospital.
Seven of the graduates in the inaugural class were more than 50 years old, according to a press release.
Expert nurses come in to help on clinical days, which Goodson said gave greater exposure to the different realms of nursing.
Ellis said that working nurses are also encouraged to design required class projects around situations they encounter in their jobs.
Goodson said the program is constantly improving.
“Professors took our feedback and made meaningful changes as we were working,” she said. “You were valued as the professional.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 7/24/2014 under the headline "Santa Fe College’s bachelor’s nursing program now accredited"]
