Nursing program looking for new students

A new nursing program is looking for new students for its fall 2017 semester after completing its first year of education.

Aaniiih Nakoda College Nursing Program Director LaVerne Parker said the college wants to find more students to enroll in its associate degree in nursing that started last September.

She said Monday that five students made up the first cohort, and she hopes to bring in as many as 12 more students next September.

Applicants must maintain a B average in chemistry, anatomy and physiology, which all students in the program are required to take, Parker said. She added that students must complete a language class, learning either Aaniiih or Nakoda.

She said graduates of the four-semester program are able to take the National Certification Licensure Exam that allows them to become a registered nurse.

The program provides students with first-hand experience doing clinical rotations at local medical facilities and long-term care facilities throughout the area, she said.

“It gives them an idea, once they have actually graduated and get their license as a registered nurse, which they are interested in,” Parker said,   

She said the program is accredited by the Montana State Board of Nursing and  funded through a five-year, $300,000 a year Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Grant through the U.S Department of Health and Human Services.

The program was developed to help meet the need on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and in other communities for nurses who understand American Indian culture, Parker said.

Though it must meet the same standards as a traditional nursing programs, Parker said, the program also has a focus on Native American culture including the use of the medicine wheel, which represent the different stages of life and health.

Parker said while tribes are different, nearly all are familiar with the medicine wheel.

A release from the college says American Indian ways of life are incorporated throughout the curriculum through the Medicine Wheel which symbolizes the holistic approach to nursing care.

The program offers state-of-the-art technology in the form of a complete nursing simulation lab for hands on clinical experience, the release says. Clinical rotations occur at high-quality health care facilities across Montana’s Hi-Line and throughout the Fort Belknap community. The program also has incorporated a preparation program to help students pass the licensing exam; testing modules to benchmark and track student performance and progression.

People interested in the program must register by June 16. Parker said people can apply at http://www.ancollege.edu or pick up an application on campus at the registrar’s office or at the nursing office in the Returning Buffalo Building.