NMSU-Alamogordo will offer a bachelor's degree in nursing by fall of 2024
New Mexico State University-Alamogordo announced it would expand its offerings for students interested in pursing a nursing degree.
Associate Campus Director Mark Cal said community members and Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center approached him and his staff with a plea to once again offer a bachelor's degree in nursing at the community college. The community college at that time only offered an associate's degree, which allowed students to acquire the basics needed for a four-year degree.
"We closed that program in 2014. When we closed that program, we started a bachelor's in nursing degree in collaboration with Las Cruces campus, so we offer that degree on this campus. The problem was we were not producing enough healthcare professionals," he said.
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Cal said funding for the program came from a number of different sources: Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center and capital outlay funding from Rep. Ron Griggs, Rep. John Block and Sen. William Burt.
"We decided that we could move forward with starting the curriculum process and developing the program so it's in our catalog and award degrees," Cal said.
Cal said the program will be ready to enroll 16 students by fall 2024, and estimated 22 expressed interest in the program. The campus boasts three nursing laboratories for the students to work in and train.
The program was approved by the New Mexico State University Board of Regents and the New Mexico Department of Higher Education, and awaits approval from the Higher Learning Commission, which is the school's regional accreditor.
"During COVID there became a great shortage of healthcare workers, and a lot of facilities were relying on travelling nurses," Cal said. "Those generally stay for three to six months at a time from what I understand."
In its January 2024 Labor Market Review the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions reported 495 job postings for nursing assistants as of December 2023. The top five occupations for online job postings included both nursing assistants and registered nurses. The report's top five occupation list was led by registered nurses with 652 online job postings; hospitals topped the list of industries seeking applicants for the state.
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions projected the nursing job market would grow by 16.8%, by 2030.
"Us being able to provide nurses before COVID, and having the ability to do that again, it became a priority to get that done as quickly as possible. As a community college we want to respond to community needs as quickly as we can," Cal said.
Director for the Nursing program and Allied Health Becky Ross agreed that the time for growth and development in the healthcare program is now.
She said the curriculum does not change other than expanding what students were previously taught, so the students can seek degrees in nursing, dietary science, emergency medical technician and sonography now exist.
"We do a nursing concept, so we teach across the board. If there are heart problems, we will teach it all, from adults to infants. We're going to teach concept-based nursing. The standard of care is always changing, you just can't help it," Ross said.
Ross said prior to the program she said there was no label to this method of teaching and is happy it can be taught in a curriculum at NMSU-Alamogordo.
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Ross said there are quite a few students working through pre-requisites to prepare them for any program, even if it's outside of the healthcare field.
"I see us getting 16 students for the program which is the maximum number of students we can have," she said.
Students at NMSU-Alamogordo can also take advantage of the Allied Health program that was started by Ross. The program allows the student to complete three semesters of prerequisites and a final semester of phlebotomy, nursing or EKG technician.
"This gives the students options. Sometimes students go into nursing and quit after three months. They did it when I was younger all the time," she said. "This gives them a variety."
Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter at @Juan36Corr.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: NMSU-Alamogordo plans to restart its nursing program by fall of 2024
