Northwest Arkansas Community College to Offer Practical Nursing Program That Can Be Completed in One Year | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

BENTONVILLE – Northwest Arkansas Community College will offer a practical nursing education program that can be completed in one year, according to a news release from the school issued Friday.

Applications are open from Monday through July 31, and the program will begin in the spring 2025 semester, according to the press release.

The degree is offered through the college’s health professions division, according to the release.

Mark Wallenmeyer, dean of the Health Professions Division, said the program was created to meet the needs of the industry in Northwest Arkansas and to align with the state’s plan for practical nursing programs in high schools.

“We are trying to listen to the needs of our industry partners and come up with programs that we can use to better support the workforce in Northwest Arkansas,” Wallenmeyer said in the release. “This is one of the needs we have heard from the community. The practical nursing program will fill a need as the population in Northwest Arkansas grows and the need for health care increases.”

Nursing assistants monitor patients’ health by checking blood pressure, changing dressings and providing basic comfort, according to the release.

Six courses will be offered in the college’s Health Professions Center building, and students will be able to work with Mercy Hospital and Northwest Health, according to the release.

Students in the Springdale School District’s Tyson School of Innovation can take the program’s courses as concurrent courses, according to the college’s news release.

“The NWACC worked with the State Office of Skills Development to offer this practical nursing program at the secondary level,” Wallenmeyer said in the release. “The high school program will initially only be offered at the Don Tyson School of Innovation, as part of the NWACC Secondary Career Center. The focus now is on high school students to graduate and be ready to enter the workforce. proud to be part of the state.

Northwest Arkansas Community College is the state’s largest two-year college. In January, the school announced that 7,709 students were registered for college credit for the spring semester.