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The Practical Nursing program at the University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology-McGehee (UAM-CTM) has been recognized as the number one practical nursing program in Arkansas by PracticalNursing.org, the nation’s leading licensed practical nursing advancement and ranking agency. PracticalNursing.org has been ranking practical nursing programs since 2014.

Since the Practical Nursing program was established in 1975 at UAM-CTM, then the Great Rivers Vocational Technical Institute prior to its merger with UAM, UAM-CTM has taken pride in educating and training future nurses. For two consecutive years, the program has been recognized as the best in Arkansas based on multiple factors that represent how well a program supports students toward licensure and beyond. One of the largest factors is the past and present first-time National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rates of students in the program.

“We take great pride in the work we do to teach and train tomorrow’s nursing workforce,” said Paisley Owyoung, director of Allied Health at UAM-CTM. “Our students work extremely hard to be accepted into the program and even harder to be successful. We value the hard work and grit students pour into the program to see their dreams of being a nurse become a reality.” The program is led by Owyoung and has two additional practical nursing instructors. Combined, these three instructors have 59 years of nursing experience. The instructors are registered nurses, and two hold Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees from the Monticello campus. 

Instructor Anita Walker has the most nursing experience. Walker graduated in 1990 from Great Rivers Vocational Technical College with her practical nursing degree and then from Baptist College in Little Rock in 1997 with her registered nursing degree. Anna Scales and Owyoung both graduated from the Monticello campus with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees in 2012. “I love teaching and I particularly love teaching our students. One of the best parts of teaching our students is watching them grow into confident and knowledgeable nurses throughout the program,” Walker stated. Scales said, “Our nursing program excels through its holistic approach to student development. We take great pride in the fact that we go beyond merely training nurses; we are dedicated to nurturing individuals who possess a profound commitment to enhancing both their own quality of life and that of their patients.” 

The program is twelve months, with a new cohort of students starting each January and graduating in December. During the one-year program, students not only attend classes for lecture and theory but also acquire real-world experiences through three clinical rotations in various healthcare facilities in southeast Arkansas, including nursing homes, hospitals, hospice care, home health and private clinics. Additionally, students have the opportunity to be paired with a preceptor, which offers a pre-orientation for the workforce. A preceptor is a nurse who mentors the student during one of the student’s clinical experiences. “A preceptor is fundamental to the quality of instruction our students receive. While being supervised, the students get to work alongside the experienced nurse to strengthen their knowledge and skills. The more exposed the students are to the real-life clinical setting the more confident and competent they will be entering the workforce. There is no substitution for this kind of teaching and training,” Owyoung said. The preceptor is a unique learning experience and just one way in which UAM-CTM’s program stands out from other nursing programs.

The program accepts 20 students each year. To be considered for the program, a student must meet several standards. These standards include earning good grades in their pre-requisite courses, meeting a cutoff score on the reading portion of the Accuplacer exam and meeting a cutoff score for the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS), as well as three letters of recommendation. “This application process helps us ensure the students coming into the program are able to meet the highest standards of academic rigor,” said Owyoung. “All three faculty members examine each application we receive.”

Once selected for the program, students must successfully complete 42 college credit hours and 824 clinical hours. “Our students hit the ground running on day one,” Walker said. “They immediately dive into content containing principles and skills, pharmacology, geriatrics, nursing of children, law and ethics and even their first clinical experience where they begin to strengthen their assessment abilities, begin analyzing patient data and practice basic nursing skills in the hospital setting.”

Over the summer, students take theory classes in intravenous (IV) therapy, nursing of mothers and infants, adult medical-surgical nursing and mental health.

Students complete the program at the end of the fall semester by completing medical-surgical nursing II and two additional clinical experiences. Their second clinical is where they continue on-site experiences in facilities to care for adult, pediatric, mentally ill and obstetrical clients. During their third clinical experience, students begin working with their nurse preceptor.

The program is proud that 100% of recent graduates went directly to work as nurses, with many being employed at one of the sites where they did their clinicals. The average annual starting salary for graduates is between $35,000 and $45,000 in southeast Arkansas. “Some of the most common feedback from employers is that our graduates are well-trained, knowledgeable, respectful and enthusiastic about learning,” Scales said. “Most of our students go directly into the workforce. However, our program also prepares students to continue their education and training in a registered nursing program. The Monticello campus offers an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing degree which is an LPN to RN fast track program of study.”

For more information about the Practical Nursing program at UAM-CTM, visit the UAM website at www.uamont.edu or contact Owyoung at owyoungp@uamont.edu.