Nursing Program Changes

Nursing Program pivots to meet employer demands

By Lisa Jane Laird

Snow College is shifting to a faster, less expensive twoyear nursing degree. This degree will meet the ever-growing demand for registered nurses in the college service region and beyond.

The first cohort of students in the Associate of Science in Nursing program will begin courses in spring semester of 2022. Students will begin and end the two-year coursework together. The program will admit a new, rolling cohort each semester after that.

“So many of our area employers require the higher skill sets. We are responding to that need,” said Amber Epling, department chair for the Snow College Allied Health Department.

Meeting with employers last April, Epling introduced the streamlined registered nursing program and outlined the changes for employers. Intermountain Healthcare representatives and other health providers from the service region thanked Epling and her colleagues for responding to their critical skill and hiring needs.

The move to faster training and degree completion will mean the end of the licensed practical nursing (LPN) program at Snow College, and those faculty will be reassigned to instruct the registered nursing students.

“So many employers reported that they have a lesser need for licensed practical nurses because their own compliance and skill needs have increased,” said Epling.

Nationally, most acute care hospitals phased out LPNs in recent years because of the limitations placed on them due to their licensing, which led to inefficiencies in patient care. Intermountain Healthcare and other Utah hospitals also followed suit and use registered nurses only. They also incentivize their nursing staff to earn a Bachelor of Nursing while they continue to work for them.

Prepping for the Spring 2022 rollout, Snow College nursing candidates are taking prerequisites in Summer and Fall 2021. Applicants must have a current certified nursing assistant (CNA) license, a 3.0 grade point average, and successful completion of Math 850, 1010, or higher. Other prerequisites include anatomy, physiology, elementary chemistry, and their corresponding labs; English; and introduction to nursing.

For further information about the registered nursing program, contact Melissa Blackner at 435-893-2232 or Melissa.Blackner@snow.edu.

Photo Caption: Nursing students participate in Trauma Day, as part of their clinical training. From left to right: Heaven Patterson, Brock Anderson, Landon Palmer, Danielle Hansen, and Colby Hover.