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News Release
First Batch of Nurses Co-Educated by Lipscomb and VUSN set to Graduate (05/02/07)
Nashville, TN -- Lipscomb University's first graduating class of nurses, produced through a one-of-a-kind partnership with Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, will be honored at a pinning ceremony on Friday, May 4, and a commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 5.
Michael Kuol, a Lost Boy of Sudan, and Christin Brinkley Ayre, a survivor of two brain tumors, are just two of 29 bachelor's level nurses who will be the first graduates from this precedent-setting program. These graduates will enter the workforce boasting a unique combination of Lipscomb's premier academic program within a Christian context and clinical studies at internationally-recognized Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
"We are delighted to reach this point in the partnership because it's a great example of two schools coming together to do something in a new way," said Linda Norman, D.S.N., R.N., senior associate dean for Academics at VUSN. "We are really pleased with the quality and individual accomplishments of these students and look forward to helping a majority of them launch their careers here at our own medical center."
The Lipscomb/Vanderbilt partnership was created in 2003 to address the local shortage of nurses. At the time, Lipscomb regularly received inquiries from students interested in attending Lipscomb but wanting to major in nursing, a degree Lipscomb did not offer. The partnership with VUSN allowed Lipscomb to enroll those students and provide them the quality faith-based liberal arts education they desired, said Ben Hutchinson, Dean of Lipscomb's College of Natural and Applied Sciences.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center benefits by getting highly-trained nurses who have a familiarity with the hospital through various clinical training opportunities and externships. Twenty-seven of the students graduating from this partnership program have signed on to work at VUMC for two years, as part of a loan forgiveness program to adjust for difference between the tuition at the two schools.
Students in the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt program take their first five semesters of foundational nursing courses at Lipscomb. The remaining three semesters of professional nursing courses and clinical experiences are provided at VUSN, recently ranked 19th in the country by U.S. News and World Report.
Lipscomb nursing students have their clinical experiences in the same facilities used by VUSN master's degree students, including VUMC, recently designated as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Magnet recognition is a much sought-after distinction for health care institutions, achieved by satisfying demanding criteria of the strength and quality of nursing.
The Lipscomb/Vanderbilt nursing program's blend of outstanding faith-based academics and one of the finest clinical experiences in America does more than create nurses who can fill job openings. The partnership creates nurses devoted to providing the very highest standard of care.
"They are so eager to serve and to learn. They have been phenomenal in their quest for knowledge, and they really have a heart to serve,
said Liz Bradley, coordinator of the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt nursing partnership.
Nurses are in a unique position because they are with people in some of their worst situations. I believe this combination of education from Lipscomb and Vanderbilt has prepared these students to care for and comfort patients in ways that no other school in the area can."
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