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Holmes Community College’s hybrid Practical Nursing program was named the #1 best online LPN program by Nurse.org. Nurse.org’s selection criteria that they use for their list of the best online LPN programs considers the factors that most students value most highly, including: the quality of their curriculum and faculty; the cost to attend; flexible access to online classes; reputation; student/faculty ratio; student placement services and return on investment.
“I am honored that our Practical Nursing hybrid option was selected by Nursing.org,” said Practical Nursing Division Chair Dr. Christi Blair. “I am so excited Holmes is able to offer the hybrid option to our students. The idea was conceived to meet a need we identified in the applicants to our Practical Nursing program. Many students are unable to attend nursing school because they still need to work while attending classes. This part-time hybrid option allows the students to work and progress through nursing school at a slower pace than our traditional program. I am so thankful to Dr. Whittington and Mrs. Meriwether for supporting this idea. Holmes is now able to meet the needs of our students and community through this alternate pathway.”
Holmes established the hybrid Practical Nursing program in the spring of 2019. It’s a part-time program that runs over five semesters; all classroom work is online with lab and clinical work completed face-to-face. The Practical Nursing program prepares students to assist in providing general nursing care under the direction of a registered nurse, licensed physician or dentist. Intensive preparation for the NCLEX-PN Exam and transitioning from student to employee is provided in the program. It offers both campus-based and distance education PN programs that are offered as either a full-time day track or a hybrid option. An evening and weekend option will begin in June 2022.
“We are so very proud of the innovative thinking and hard work it took from Dr. Christi Blair to make this program a reality,” said Vice President for Career Technical Education Dr. Amy Whittington. “It exemplifies the mission of career technical education – meeting students where they are with the training they need to build a career that will change their lives. We hope that this model will be one we can duplicate in other programs to increase accessibility for the high-skill, high-wage, high-demand job training our community members need.”
Potential students for the program must have a high school diploma or a GED certificate and provide official transcripts from all schools/colleges previously attended. Applicants must also have a minimum of a 20 on their ACT to apply, which is higher than required for the traditional Practical Nursing program at Holmes. Although college credit is not required for application to the program, applicants with any college credit must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 to be considered for selection.
Admission is selective based on such criteria as: ACT score; college credit GPA; current healthcare licensure – EMT, Paramedic, Certified Nursing Assistant, Surgical Technology and in-district status. College prerequisites are not required.
“As I began this venture of Director of Health Science Programs, Dr. Christi Blair presented an innovative learning pathway for our practical nursing students,” said Ginger Meriwether, MSN, RN, director of Health Science Programs. “The hybrid PN program has been the brain-child of Dr. Blair since its inception. As she teaches these students and many others provide help with labs, testing, general meeting of the students’ needs, etc., I wanted to include a very special thanks to Dr. Blair. We are so proud of her and her desire to meet the needs of students in an unconventional way. I am not surprised at the naming of the cohort as the top Hybrid program in the U.S.”
To see the listing on nurse.org, visit https://nurse.org/education/top-online-lpn-programs/.
Applications for the next cohort, which will begin in August of 2022, are being accepted through April 30.
For more information about the program, contact Wyndy Peeples at wpeeples@holmescc.edu or 662-472-9098.
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IN THIS PHOTO: Pictured is the Inaugural Holmes Hybrid Practical Nursing Class, Class of 2020 with (center) PN Division Chair Dr. Christi Blair. They are (left to right) Sherita Latiker of Carthage, Erin Hopkins of Richland, Jennifer Potts of Water Valley, Lisa Nipper of Chatham, Cherry Singh of Ridgeland and Brandy Raines of Pontotoc.
