Lake Michigan College is hailing state approval of a new program that it says will increase the number of nurses with bachelor’s degrees at Michigan hospitals. LMC Marketing Director Jennifer Shoemaker tells WSJM News the Legislature and governor have allocated $56 million to create opportunities for nurses with Associate Degrees to complete their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees on community college campuses working in partnership with four-year universities. She says this will make things simpler for nursing students.
“They don’t have all these choices where they say, ‘I don’t know what to do. I have too much choice. It’s overwhelming,’” Shoemaker said. “They say, ‘I know exactly what’s happening. As soon as I’m done with this program, then I start at, let’s say, Michigan State, and I know what classes I’m going to be taking for the next two years to be able to get my Bachelor’s.’”
Shoemaker says each community college will receive funds to work with one or more four-year universities on the new nursing program. LMC is working out the details now. She says the program will help nursing students have a more consistent and predictable education experience as they work their way toward a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
