This grant supported the efforts of Bladen Community College to continue to improve the education and training of nursing students, resulting in higher retention, completion, and NCLEX pass rates. The college worked to enhance access and learning for nursing students by consolidating the nursing program components, which were spread among five campus buildings into one building. The program operates at capacity with 70 nursing student slots approved by the NC Board of Nursing. Golden LEAF dollars were used for computers, charging carts and renovations to provide dedicated and expanded access to technology for remediation in health sciences and preparation for adaptive testing methods for the licensure exam. In fall 2019, the college increased the pathways that can lead to an associate degree in nursing having added LPN-to-RN and paramedic-to-RN pathways and two RIBN (Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses) students who continue to BSN studies through UNC-Pembroke. The new pathways and improvements position the Bladen Community College nursing program to expand in the future.
