It may come as a surprise to some that three of Idaho State University's (ISU) five current nursing programs are taught by and administered through the ISU College of Technology, Pocatello, ID.

The College of Technology offers the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Practical Nursing (PN) and Associate Degree Registered Nurse (ADRN) programs for aspiring nurses. The bachelors and master's degree nursing programs are offered through the ISU Kasiska College of Health Professions.

The College of Technology nursing programs work well individually and collectively.  They are integrated and well equipped and have produced excellent results.

The three programs are correlated. CNA certification is required as a prerequisite to acceptance to the PN program that prepares students to become licensed practical nurses. With LPN licensure, students are eligible for the ADRN program, where graduates can earn licensure as registered nurses.

"It is also very easy for our graduates to link to the Kasiska College of Health Professions and get a bachelor and master of science in nursing," said Linda S. Smith, MS, DSN, RN, CLNC, director of the ADRN program.

The College of Technology's nursing programs are geared towards the students. For example, the ADRN program is distance-based; students are required to attend "intensive" on-site sessions several times a month, but may complete much of their clinical requirements where they live. This allows students, such as Jesse Kunz, an ADRN student from Bern who works at Bear Lake Memorial Hospital in Montpelier, to conveniently upgrade their nursing knowledge and skills.

"This is a great program for me," Kunz said. "I am from Bear Lake, a rural area, and this program, with its distance learning, has allowed me to attend school without moving. I've had great support from my hospital and a lot of the RN staff there are a product of this  program."

The online learning is augmented by faculty supervised clinical experiences and intensive on-site visits where students learn and practice everything they can't do online, Smith said. Intensive sessions also include opportunities for students to work together face to face with real and simulated nursing care problems. "During these sessions, students learn to critically think as a team of nursing professionals with faculty oversight and mentorship," Smith explained.

While the ADRN is taught largely by distance, the PN program's lecture component is largely taught in a face-to-face format with students on site. However, the PN program also features online teaching that can save students time and travel.

All of the students in the College of Technology's three nursing programs have access to excellent learning resources at the nursing labs in the ISU Continuing Education Building.

Visit http://www.isu.edu/ctech/healthdepartment.shtml for more information on these programs.