| |
Dalton State College’s School of Nursing was recently granted
reaccreditation status for the next four years by the Georgia
Board of Nursing (GBON), College officials have announced.
Dalton State officials were notified in June that the current
accredited status will remain in place through December 31,
2013, according to Dr. Cordia Starling, Dean of the School of
Nursing.
“It’s important to us to continue our accreditation status
because doing so confirms the quality of our program,” Starling
says.
Every four years, each school or division of nursing comes under
review by the Georgia Board of Nurses, Starling says, in order
to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum, the
self-evaluation methodology, and the quality of classroom and
clinical instruction.
“We’re proud of our program and are always looking to be the
best that we can be. Our ultimate goal is to graduate safe and
effective healthcare providers who will serve this region, our
state, and even the nation.”
Representatives from GBON made a two-day site visit in October
of last year, and reported their findings to the board in May,
recommending full approval of reaccreditation.
The report included nine commendations for the School of
Nursing, listing what the board considers to be many of the
nursing program’s strengths, including strong administrative
support for the acquisition of equipment and supplies, detailed
course materials and guidelines for students which enhance
learning, and practice-based learning activities.
Over the past year, says Starling, the School of Nursing has
been revamping its curriculum to reflect changes and trends that
have occurred in healthcare field. The restructuring process
necessitated program review and approval by the National League
for Nurses Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) as well, she says,
noting that College officials also learned in June that the
NLNAC also granted full approval for the curriculum changes.
“The changes we’ve made to the curriculum, including increasing
nursing instruction from just half a semester for freshmen to
full-semesters, should make retention of the subject matter
easier for the students. We expect that we’ll see this reflected
on their performance on their state boards.” |
|
