By: Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter
According to CNM’s website, the requirements for gaining entry into the Nursing program are being reduced and access to the program will be offered on a first come, first served basis starting in the spring of 2014. Students expressed differing opinions on whether or not these changes will be for the better.
The requirements to enter into the Nursing program have dropped from 15 required courses to six courses, while courses being removed from the curriculum are Chemistry, Nutrition and some Biology courses which were cut down from 5 to 2 required classes.
The school will also no longer have an application process to apply for the program, and instead students will be required to register for NRSG 1010: Introduction to Nursing Concepts and NRSG 1015: Principles of Nursing Practice to be eligible for the nursing program, according to the CNM website and course catalogs from 2013 to 2014.
Mary Langois, Nursing majo,r said “The question is: Which nurse do you want working on you; the one with an A average or the one with a C average?”
The other side of the issue is that there are some people who do not test well but excel when it comes to the hands-on part of the job, she said.
“I have seen it as a practicing paramedic; where people who work in the medical field have the book smarts. They are A students, but they cannot actually apply the information to help their patients. I am kind of torn on this because I have seen both in people,” said Langois.
Nursing major Dana Broadway said she does not have any real problem with the changes being made to the program.
While it does seem odd that they would lower the standards and reduce your ability to enter the program only when you are able to register, and there is not much that can be done about it, she said
Consistency is good in terms of entry to the program, but the changes do not seem like they are needed, she said.
Broadway said, “I cannot control the changes they make; I can only control how I react to it. Mostly I am going to have to hope that luck is on my side.” According to nmned. org, these changes are being made to allow for increased efficiency in transferring nursing students between colleges, as well as bringing CNM’s program in alignment with the standards of New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium curriculum which will, “Improve efficiency, quality, and educational outcomes of nursing education through cooperation among community colleges,”.
