September 17, 2024, Devils Lake, ND — The nursing department at Lake Region State College has established a professional presence across much of the state of North Dakota, opening doors for students and avenues for collaboration with both health care providers and satellite education sites. Julie Traynor, Dakota Nursing Program Consortium Director, Karen Clementich, LRSC Chair of Nursing, and Kelsey Mertens, Program Coordinator of the Dakota Nursing Program, recently spoke about how these partnerships benefit students.
“What makes our program great is we have incredibly strong faculty and strong clinical partners,” Traynor says. “The investment in our students by our clinical partners and the communities they serve greatly adds to their experience.”
Lake Region State College is a partner in the Dakota Nursing Program (DNP)—along with Bismarck State College, Dakota College at Bottineau, and Williston State College—a consortium of colleges that collaborates to provide nursing classes online and in-person. The member colleges work with clinical partners throughout the state, giving students access to hands-on experience in a variety of settings, from city hospitals to long-term care facilities to public health clinics. Traynor said this, “real world environment alongside expert, professional nurses” is an opportunity for students to see rapid clinical decision-making and skills application in real time. They benefit from the kind of knowledge and wisdom that can only be generated by spending years in a changing profession.
The profession is definitely evolving. Clementich explains, “Nursing isn’t all done bedside anymore—it’s much more community-based.” Partnerships with a variety of health care facilities give students the opportunity to see specializations and teams in action as part of their overall education including: pediatrics, geriatrics, rural health, mental health, emergency care, and the growing field of telehealth. With nurses available in-person at a health care service location, primary providers and specialists can be accessible for appointments via telehealth to patients in rural and geographically-distant areas and to patients with mobility challenges, greatly expanding access to these services.
In much the same way, students can access the LRSC Nursing Program in Devils Lake or in any of three satellite locations: Grand Forks, Mayville, and Jamestown. The program is available at each of the locations, with dedicated faculty on-site and administration managed on the Devils Lake campus. Through the Dakota Nursing Program’s partner colleges and satellite locations, students have the opportunity to complete a nursing degree in a total of sixteen communities throughout the state.
Also of note, job placement for graduates of Lake Region’s nursing program is exceptional, with more than 98% of students receiving offers of employment. Employers reach out to the college about upcoming cohorts, hoping to get a foot in the door on future recruitment of new nurses. Many employment offers for nurses now include robust incentives, such as tuition reimbursement, relocation expenses, and signing bonuses. Clementich says, “Professional placement is not coming exclusively from clinics and hospitals, but also in areas such as aesthetics, insurance companies, the VA health system, long-term care, and telehealth.” The experience of online learning and classrooms, simulated technology used in hands-on skills training, and experience with clinical partners prepares safe, effective nurses who are prepared for the digital future of healthcare.
Information on the program, faculty, and more can be found at lrsc.edu/nursing. Keep an eye out for more stories about the departments at Lake Region State College.